Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Marcus Aurelius: The time of a man's life is as a point;…
The time of a man's life is as a point; the substance of it ever flowing, the sense obscure; and the whole composition of the body tending to corruption. His soul is restless, fortune uncertain, and fame doubtful; to be brief, as a stream so are all things belonging to the body; as a dream, or as a smoke, so are all that belong unto the soul.
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Meditations. The reading beside it is ours.
Life is brief, the body is vulnerable, luck is unstable, and reputation is unreliable. Marcus piles up these facts not to make you hopeless, but to show why you should not build your identity on what cannot hold still. Your body will change. Plans will be interrupted. Praise will disappear as quickly as it arrives. If you demand permanent security from any of these, you will spend your life chasing smoke. But there is a steadier place to stand: the quality of your choices while things are uncertain. You can be honest in a shifting economy, kind in a difficult season, and disciplined on an ordinary Tuesday. That is not a guarantee against loss; it is protection against living shallowly. Today, notice one fragile thing you have been treating as the foundation of your worth—appearance, status, income, approval. Appreciate it, but move your deepest confidence back to your character.
Related passages
- Marcus Aurelius Let not things future trouble thee. For if necessity so require that they come to pass, thou shalt (whensoever that…
- Marcus Aurelius Stir up thy mind, and recall thy wits again from thy natural dreams, and visions, and when thou art perfectly awoken,…
- Marcus Aurelius The matter itself, of which the universe doth consist, is of itself very tractable and pliable. That rational essence…