Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 2.10 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.10
Theophrastus, in his comparison of bad acts—such a comparison as one would make in accordance with the common notions of mankind—says, like a true philosopher, that the offences which are committed through desire are more blameable than those which are committed through anger. For he who is excited by anger seems to turn away from reason with a certain pain and unconscious contraction; but he who offends through desire, being overpowered by pleasure, seems to be in a manner more intemperate and more womanish in his offences. Rightly then, and in a way worthy of philosophy, he said that the offence which is committed with pleasure is more blameable than that which is committed with pain; and on the whole the one is more like a person who has been first wronged and through pain is compelled to be angry; but the other is moved by his own impulse to do wrong, being carried towards doing something by desire.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.10, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/2.10
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWrongs done out of desire, for pleasure, are judged worse than wrongs done in anger, because an angry person is reacting to a perceived injury while a person driven by desire chooses harm for his own gratification. The passage also reflects an old-fashioned view that treats weakness as womanly.
Older wording
- “intemperate”
- — lacking self-control
- “blameable”
- — deserving blame
- “womanish”
- — a dated insult implying weakness
Themes and situations
- Emotions and the passions
- Desire and craving
- Anger
- Justice and fairness
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