Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 4.1 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.1
That which rules within, when it is according to nature, is so affected with respect to the events which happen, that it always easily adapts itself to that which is and is presented to it. For it requires no definite material, but it moves towards its purpose, under certain conditions however; and it makes a material for itself out of that which opposes it, as fire lays hold of what falls into it, by which a small light would have been extinguished: but when the fire is strong, it soon appropriates to itself the matter which is heaped on it, and consumes it, and rises higher by means of this very material.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.1, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/4.1
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWhen your mind is working properly, it adapts to whatever happens and turns obstacles into fuel, the way a strong fire feeds on whatever is thrown at it while a weak flame would be put out.
Older wording
- “That which rules within”
- — your reasoning mind
- “appropriates”
- — takes over and uses as its own
Themes and situations
- Adversity and hardship
- Resilience and endurance
- Acceptance and fate
- What is in our control
- A career setback
- Failure and mistakes
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