Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 7.61 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.61
The art of life is more like the wrestler’s art than the dancer’s, in respect of this, that it should stand ready and firm to meet onsets which are sudden and unexpected.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.61, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/7.61
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesLiving well is more like wrestling than dancing, because you cannot rehearse a fixed routine. You have to stand ready and firm for sudden, unexpected blows.
Older wording
- “onsets”
- — sudden attacks
Themes and situations
- Preparing for difficulty
- Resilience and endurance
- Courage
- Adversity and hardship
- Anxiety about the future
- A career setback
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