Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 7.4 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.4
In discourse thou must attend to what is said, and in every movement thou must observe what is doing. And in the one thou shouldst see immediately to what end it refers, but in the other watch carefully what is the thing signified.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.4, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/7.4
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesWhen listening, pay close attention to what is being said, and when watching any action, notice what it is aiming at. In conversation look for the purpose it serves, and in events look for what the thing actually means.
Older wording
- “discourse”
- — conversation or speech
- “signified”
- — meant, the actual meaning
Themes and situations
- Judgements and impressions
- Speech and silence
- Learning and progress
- Time and the present
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