Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 7.13 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.13
Just as it is with the members in those bodies which are united in one, so it is with rational beings which exist separate, for they have been constituted for one cooperation. And the perception of this will be more apparent to thee, if thou often sayest to thyself that I am a member [μέλος] of the system of rational beings. But if [using the letter r] thou sayest that thou art a part [μέρος] thou dost not yet love men from thy heart; beneficence does not yet delight thee for its own sake; thou still doest it barely as a thing of propriety, and not yet as doing good to thyself.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.13, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/7.13
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesThink of yourself as a living member of a community of reasoning beings, like a limb in one body, and not as a mere detached part. If you only see yourself as a part, helping others stays a polite duty; if you see yourself as a member, kindness becomes a pleasure and a benefit to you too.
Older wording
- “members”
- — limbs or organs of a body
- “beneficence”
- — doing good for others
- “propriety”
- — what is socially proper
Themes and situations
- Community and our duty to others
- Kindness and forgiveness
- Virtue and character
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