Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 9.12 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.12
Labour not as one who is wretched, nor yet as one who would be pitied or admired: but direct thy will to one thing only, to put thyself in motion and to check thyself, as the social reason requires.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.12, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/9.12
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesDo your work without self-pity and without fishing for sympathy or admiration. Aim at one thing only, acting when action is called for and holding back when restraint is called for, as your duty to others requires.
Older wording
- “social reason”
- — reason applied to what is good for the community
Themes and situations
- Duty and roles
- Reputation and others' opinions
- Resilience and endurance
- What is in our control
- Burnout and overwork
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