Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 8.37 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.37
Does Panthea or Pergamus now sit by the tomb of Verus? Does Chaurias or Diotimus sit by the tomb of Hadrian? That would be ridiculous. Well, suppose they did sit there, would the dead be conscious of it? And if the dead were conscious, would they be pleased? And if they were pleased, would that make them immortal? Was it not in the order of destiny that these persons too should first become old women and old men and then die? What then would those do after these were dead? All this is foul smell and blood in a bag.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.37, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/8.37
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesMourners at the tombs of long-dead emperors are long gone themselves, and even if the dead could know they were mourned, that would not make anyone immortal. Everyone grows old and dies in turn, which is the blunt point of calling the body just foul smell and blood in a bag.
Themes and situations
- Death and mortality
- Grief and mourning
- Reputation and others' opinions
- Change and impermanence
- Fear of death
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