“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Write your response
Take five minutes with it. No account needed to start, and nobody else can read what you write.
Respond to this passageWhere this comes from
Marcus Aurelius’ private notebooks, written for no audience but himself.
Marcus Aurelius. Roman emperor from 161 to 180 CE, and the last of the emperors remembered as the "Five Good Emperors". The notebooks we call Meditations were written in Greek, largely on campaign, and were never meant to be read by anyone else — which is why they read as instruction to himself rather than argument aimed at a reader.
Read next
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations