Marcus Aurelius Meditations
Marcus Aurelius: What art thou, that better and divine…
What art thou, that better and divine part excepted, but as Epictetus said well, a wretched soul, appointed to carry a carcass up and down?
The passage follows a public-domain translation of Meditations. The reading beside it is ours.
Your body matters, but it is not the whole of you. It gets tired, hungry, sick, distracted, and eventually dies. If you build your identity entirely around appearance, comfort, strength, or possessions, you hand your peace to things that are fragile by nature.
This is not contempt for the body. Feed it, rest it, train it, and get medical care when it needs help. But do not confuse maintaining the vehicle with the purpose of the trip. A beautiful body can carry a petty, anxious mind; an aging or injured body can house courage, fairness, and wisdom.
When you catch yourself obsessing over a number on a scale, a wrinkle, or whether you look impressive, return to what is more durable: your character and choices. The body is something you carry. The person you become is determined by how you use your judgment.
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