Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 7.45 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.45
For thus it is, men of Athens, in truth: wherever a man has placed himself thinking it the best place for him, or has been placed by a commander, there in my opinion he ought to stay and to abide the hazard, taking nothing into the reckoning, either death or anything else, before the baseness of deserting his post.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.45, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/7.45
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWherever a person has taken up their post, because they judged it best or because they were assigned it, they should stay and face the risk. Death and danger should count for nothing next to the shame of deserting.
Older wording
- “baseness”
- — shameful dishonour
- “hazard”
- — risk
Themes and situations
- Duty and roles
- Courage
- An ethical dilemma
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