Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 8.11 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.11
This thing, what is it in itself, in its own constitution? What is its substance and material? And what its causal nature [or form]? And what is it doing in the world? And how long does it subsist?
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.11, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/8.11
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesTo cut anything troubling down to size, ask what it really is in itself, what it is made of, what role it plays in the world, and how long it will last. Looking at it plainly like this removes much of its power to upset you.
Older wording
- “subsist”
- — last, continue to exist
- “causal nature”
- — its underlying cause or form
Themes and situations
- Judgements and impressions
- Nature and the cosmos
- Change and impermanence
- Everyday irritations
- Anxiety about the future
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