Marcus Aurelius · 121–180 CE
Meditations 9.37 — Marcus Aurelius
Translation by George Long (1862)
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.37
Enough of this wretched life and murmuring and apish tricks. Why art thou disturbed? What is there new in this? What unsettles thee? Is it the form of the thing? Look at it. Or is it the matter? Look at it. But besides these there is nothing. Towards the gods, then, now become at last more simple and better. It is the same whether we examine these things for a hundred years or three.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.37, tr. George Long (1862)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/meditations/9.37
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, tr. George Long (1862). Text: Standard Ebooks (CC0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesStop complaining and play-acting. When something upsets you, ask what is actually new about it, then examine its form and its material, and you will find nothing else there to fear. It makes little difference whether you examine these things for a hundred years or for three.
Older wording
- “murmuring”
- — grumbling and complaining
- “apish tricks”
- — silly, monkey-like pretending
Themes and situations
- Peace of mind
- Judgements and impressions
- Emotions and the passions
- Anxiety about the future
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