Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 1.5 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 1.5
From my governor, to be neither of the green nor of the blue party at the games in the Circus, nor a partisan either of the Parmularius or the Scutarius at the gladiators’ fights; from him too I learned endurance of labour, and to want little, and to work with my own hands, and not to meddle with other people’s affairs, and not to be ready to listen to slander.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 1.5, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/1.5
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesHis tutor taught him not to get swept up in tribal fan rivalries, to put up with hard work, to want little, to do things with his own hands, to mind his own business and to refuse to listen to gossip and slander.
Older wording
- “governor”
- — tutor or guardian who supervised his upbringing
- “blue party”
- — one of the rival chariot-racing teams whose fans behaved like football supporters
Themes and situations
- Self-discipline and habit
- Simplicity and frugality
- Speech and silence
- Resilience and endurance
- Money, status and wanting more
- Conflict at work
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