Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 4.40 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.40
Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.40, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/4.40
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesThink of the universe as a single living being with one substance and one soul, in which everything is connected and works together like threads in a web. This is a cosmological picture rather than practical advice.
Older wording
- “contexture”
- — weave, structure
Themes and situations
- Nature and the cosmos
- Community and our duty to others
Quote cards
The opening line of this passage as an image, with its citation — for sharing or keeping.