Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 12.18 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.18
In everything always observe what the thing is which produces for thee an appearance, and resolve it by dividing it into the formal, the material, the purpose, and the time within which it must end.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.18, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/12.18
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWhenever something provokes a reaction in you, break it down: what is it made of, what is its shape or function, what is it for, and how long will it last. Seeing it plainly and knowing it will end shrinks its hold on you.
Older wording
- “appearance”
- — your first impression of something
- “formal”
- — to do with its shape or structure
Themes and situations
- Judgements and impressions
- Change and impermanence
- Nature and the cosmos
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