Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 4.47 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.47
If any god told thee that thou shalt die tomorrow, or certainly on the day after tomorrow, thou wouldst not care much whether it was on the third day or on the morrow, unless thou wast in the highest degree mean-spirited—for how small is the difference?—So think it no great thing to die after as many years as thou canst name rather than tomorrow.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.47, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/4.47
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesIf you were told you would die tomorrow or the day after, you would hardly care which, so it is just as unimportant whether you die in many years rather than tomorrow. The difference in time is smaller than it feels.
Older wording
- “mean-spirited”
- — petty and cowardly
- “morrow”
- — tomorrow
Themes and situations
- Death and mortality
- Time and the present
- Fear and anxiety
- Fear of death
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