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Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

§ Section 27

Book Ten

10:27

Book Subtitle: The classic from Marcus Aurelius.

Book Description: The personal notes of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. This book has influenced many throughout history from students to statesmen. It's an inside look at a brilliant and thoughtful man working on living well. The emperor and philosopher's thoughts are crucial to understand for any Stoic seeking to do their best in a complex world.

Chapter Subtitle: Will you then, my soul, never be good and simple and one and naked, more manifest than the body which surrounds thee? Will you never enjoy an affectionate and contented disposition?

27. Constantly consider how all things such as they now are, in time past also were; and consider that they will be the same again.

And place before your eyes entire dramas and stages of the same form, whatever you have learned from your experience or from older history; for example, the whole court of Hadrian, and the whole court of Antoninus, and the whole court of Philip, Alexander, Croesus; for all those were such dramas as we see now, only with different actors.