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What Would Stoics Do

Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE

Meditations 4.2 — Marcus Aurelius

Translation by George Long (1862)

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.2

Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art.
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.2 · tr. George Long (1862)Read in context →

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Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.2, tr. George Long (1862)

https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/4.2

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

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In plain English

AI-written notes

Do nothing without a purpose, and do everything to the standards of skilled craftsmanship. Act deliberately and to a high standard.

Older wording

“perfect principles of art”
— the standards of skilled craft

Themes and situations

  • Virtue and character
  • Self-discipline and habit
  • Duty and roles

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Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.2, tr. George Long (1862)