Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 5.19 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.19
Things themselves touch not the soul, not in the least degree; nor have they admission to the soul, nor can they turn or move the soul: but the soul turns and moves itself alone, and whatever judgements it may think proper to make, such it makes for itself the things which present themselves to it.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.19, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/5.19
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesEvents cannot reach into your mind and push it around. What upsets you is the judgement your own mind makes about what happens, so you are the one who decides how much a thing disturbs you.
Older wording
- “soul”
- — your mind and inner self
Themes and situations
- Judgements and impressions
- What is in our control
- Emotions and the passions
- Anxiety about the future
- Being criticised or insulted
- Everyday irritations
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