Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 8.36 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.36
Do not disturb thyself by thinking of the whole of thy life. Let not thy thoughts at once embrace all the various troubles which thou mayest expect to befall thee: but on every occasion ask thyself, What is there in this which is intolerable and past bearing? For thou wilt be ashamed to confess. In the next place remember that neither the future nor the past pains thee, but only the present. But this is reduced to a very little, if thou only circumscribest it, and chidest thy mind, if it is unable to hold out against even this.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.36, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/8.36
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesDo not overwhelm yourself by picturing your whole life and every trouble that might come. Instead ask what exactly is unbearable in this moment, because only the present hurts, and the present shrinks to something manageable when you confine it and stop your mind from whining about it.
Older wording
- “circumscribest”
- — confine, limit
- “chidest”
- — scold
Themes and situations
- Fear and anxiety
- Time and the present
- Resilience and endurance
- Anxiety about the future
- Burnout and overwork
- Illness or diagnosis
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