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What Would Stoics Do

Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE

Meditations 12.11 — Marcus Aurelius

Translation by George Long (1862)

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.11

What a power man has to do nothing except what God will approve, and to accept all that God may give him.
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.11 · tr. George Long (1862)Read in context →

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Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.11, tr. George Long (1862)

https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/12.11

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences

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In plain English

AI-written notes

Humans have a remarkable power: we can choose to do only what is right, and we can accept whatever life hands us. Those two abilities remain in reach whatever the circumstances.

Themes and situations

  • What is in our control
  • Acceptance and fate
  • Virtue and character
  • Freedom
  • An ethical dilemma

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Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.11, tr. George Long (1862)