Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 7.58 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.58
In everything which happens keep before thy eyes those to whom the same things happened, and how they were vexed, and treated them as strange things, and found fault with them: and now where are they? Nowhere. Why then dost thou too choose to act in the same way? And why dost thou not leave these agitations which are foreign to nature, to those who cause them and those who are moved by them? And why art thou not altogether intent upon the right way of making use of the things which happen to thee? For then thou wilt use them well, and they will be a material for thee to work on. Only attend to thyself, and resolve to be a good man in every act which thou doest: and remember…
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.58, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/7.58
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWhatever happens to you has happened to others before, who got upset, called it strange and complained, and now they are gone. Leave those agitations to the people who cause or feel them, and put your effort into using events as raw material for being a good person.
Older wording
- “agitations”
- — emotional disturbances
- “vexed”
- — annoyed or upset
Themes and situations
- Acceptance and fate
- Adversity and hardship
- Emotions and the passions
- Change and impermanence
- A career setback
- Failure and mistakes
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