Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 8.54 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.54
No longer let thy breathing only act in concert with the air which surrounds thee, but let thy intelligence also now be in harmony with the intelligence which embraces all things. For the intelligent power is no less diffused in all parts and pervades all things for him who is willing to draw it to him than the aerial power for him who is able to respire it.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.54, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/8.54
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesJust as you breathe the surrounding air, let your mind work in harmony with the intelligence that pervades the universe. That reason is available everywhere to anyone willing to draw on it, as air is to anyone who can breathe it.
Older wording
- “respire”
- — breathe
- “diffused”
- — spread throughout
Themes and situations
- Nature and the cosmos
- Peace of mind
- Acceptance and fate
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