Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 5.30 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.30
The intelligence of the universe is social. Accordingly it has made the inferior things for the sake of the superior, and it has fitted the superior to one another. Thou seest how it has subordinated, coordinated and assigned to everything its proper portion, and has brought together into concord with one another the things which are the best.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.30, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/5.30
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesThe intelligence behind the universe is cooperative by nature: it arranges every part in its fitting place and brings the best things into harmony with one another. Human beings, as part of that order, are built for cooperation too.
Older wording
- “subordinated”
- — placed in a lower rank
- “coordinated”
- — arranged to work together
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.