Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 9.25 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.25
Examine into the quality of the form of an object, and detach it altogether from its material part, and then contemplate it; then determine the time, the longest which a thing of this peculiar form is naturally made to endure.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.25, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/9.25
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesTo see a thing for what it really is, strip away how it appears to you, look at its basic form and its material separately, and then ask how long a thing like that can naturally last. This takes the shine off whatever you crave or fear.
Older wording
- “form”
- — the defining shape or nature of a thing
- “material part”
- — the physical stuff something is made of
Themes and situations
- Judgements and impressions
- Change and impermanence
- Desire and craving
- Money, status and wanting more
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