Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 10.13 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 10.13
Inquire of thyself as soon as thou wakest from sleep, whether it will make any difference to thee, if another does what is just and right. It will make no difference. Thou hast not forgotten, I suppose, that those who assume arrogant airs in bestowing their praise or blame on others, are such as they are at bed and at board, and thou hast not forgotten what they do, and what they avoid and what they pursue, and how they steal and how they rob, not with hands and feet, but with their most valuable part, by means of which there is produced, when a man chooses, fidelity, modesty, truth, law, a good daemon [happiness]?
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 10.13, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/10.13
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesStart the day by reminding yourself that your own integrity does not depend on whether other people behave justly. And remember that those who hand out praise and blame with arrogant airs are ordinary people with flaws of their own, who rob themselves of the one faculty that could make them faithful, modest and truthful.
Older wording
- “daemon”
- — guardian spirit, here a good inner life or happiness
Themes and situations
- Reputation and others' opinions
- Insult and criticism
- Justice and fairness
- Judgements and impressions
- Being criticised or insulted
- Conflict at work
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