Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 12.7 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.7
Consider in what condition both in body and soul a man should be when he is overtaken by death; and consider the shortness of life, the boundless abyss of time past and future, the feebleness of all matter.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.7, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/12.7
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesAsk yourself what state you would want to be in, body and soul, if death overtook you now, and keep in view how short life is, how vast the time before and after you, and how fragile all matter is. This keeps your priorities honest.
Themes and situations
- Death and mortality
- Time and the present
- Preparing for difficulty
- Fear of death
- Feeling life is slipping by
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