Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 11.30–31 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 11.30–31
A slave thou art: free speech is not for thee. —And my heart laughed within.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 11.30–31, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/11.30-31
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesTwo short quoted lines about a servant being told he has no right to speak freely, answered by a heart that laughs inwardly. Without the surrounding context it offers no clear guidance beyond a hint of inner freedom under restriction.
Older wording
- “thou art”
- — you are
Themes and situations
- Freedom
- Insult and criticism
Quote cards
The opening line of this passage as an image, with its citation — for sharing or keeping.