Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 9.26 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.26
Thou hast endured infinite troubles through not being contented with thy ruling faculty, when it does the things which it is constituted by nature to do. But enough of this.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.26, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/9.26
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesYou have put yourself through endless trouble by not being satisfied with your own reasoning mind doing what it was built to do, which is to judge well and act well. Contentment with sound thinking would have spared you most of it.
Older wording
- “ruling faculty”
- — your reasoning mind
Themes and situations
- Peace of mind
- Judgements and impressions
- What is in our control
- Anxiety about the future
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