Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 11.33 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 11.33
To look for the fig in winter is a madman’s act: such is he who looks for his child when it is no longer allowed.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 11.33, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/11.33
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesLonging for something that the season of life no longer allows, such as a child who has died, is as irrational as searching for figs in winter. Grieving endlessly for what can no longer exist means refusing to accept how things really are.
Themes and situations
- Grief and mourning
- Acceptance and fate
- Death and mortality
- Bereavement
- Parenting
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