Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 6.17 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.17
Above, below, all around are the movements of the elements. But the motion of virtue is in none of these: it is something more divine, and advancing by a way hardly observed it goes happily on its road.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.17, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/6.17
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesEverything physical around you is in constant motion, but virtue moves on a different, nobler track, advancing quietly and almost unnoticed and getting happily to its destination.
Older wording
- “elements”
- — the basic substances of the physical world, such as earth, air, fire and water
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Learning and progress
- Peace of mind
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