If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs thee, but thy own judgement about it. And it is in thy power to wipe out this judgement now.
Paraphrase
Not in these words. The idea is in Meditations (180), Book 8, section 47 (opening).
The real passage, shown below, is found word for word by program in the Greek original and in George Long’s English translation (1862).
- Work
- Meditations (Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν), 180
- The real passage
- Book 8, section 47 (opening)
Researched by AI; closest passage located by program on 31 October 2026. Entry updated 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
The real passage
[…] If then there happens to each thing both what is usual and natural, why shouldst thou complain? For the common nature brings nothing which may not be borne by thee.
Ἀνθρώπῳ οὐδενὶ συμβαίνειν τι δύναται ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνθρωπικὸν σύμπτωμα, οὐδὲ βοὶ ὃ οὐκ ἔστι βοικόν, οὐδὲ ἀμπέλῳ ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀμπελικόν, οὐδὲ λίθῳ ὃ οὐκ ἔστι λίθου ἴδιον. εἰ οὖν ἑκάστῳ συμβαίνει ὃ καὶ εἴωθε καὶ πέφυκε, τί ἂν δυσχεραίνοις; οὐ γὰρ ἀφόρητόν σοι ἔφερεν ἡ κοινὴ φύσις.
If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs thee, but thy own judgement about it. And it is in thy power to wipe out this judgement now.1 But if anything in thy own disposition gives thee pain, who hinders thee from correcting thy opinion? […]
Εἰ μὲν διά τι τῶν ἐκτὸς λυπῇ, οὐκ ἐκεῖνό σοι ἐνοχλεῖ, ἀλλὰ τὸ σὸν περὶ αὐτοῦ κρῖμα, τοῦτο δὲ ἤδη ἐξαλεῖψαι ἐπὶ σοί ἐστιν. εἰ δὲ λυπεῖ σέ τι τῶν ἐν τῇ σῇ διαθέσει, τίς ὁ κωλύων διορθῶσαι τὸ δόγμα; ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ εἰ λυπῇ ὅτι οὐχὶ τόδε τι ἐνεργεῖς ὑγιές σοι φαινόμενον, τί οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἐνεργεῖς ἢ λυπῇ;—ἀλλὰ ἰσχυρότερόν τι ἐνίσταται.—μὴ οὖν λυποῦ· οὐ γὰρ παρὰ σὲ ἡ αἰτία τοῦ μὴ ἐνεργεῖσθαι.—ἀλλὰ οὐκ ἄξιον ζῆν μὴ ἐνεργουμένου τούτου.—ἄπιθι οὖν ἐκ τοῦ ζῆν εὐμενής, ᾗ καὶ ὁ ἐνεργῶν ἀποθνῄσκει, ἅμα ἵλεως τοῖς ἐνισταμένοις.
Remember that the ruling faculty is invincible, when self-collected it is satisfied with itself, if it does nothing which it does not choose to do, even if it resist from mere obstinacy. […]
Μέμνησο ὅτι ἀκαταμάχητον γίνεται τὸ ἡγεμονικόν, ὅταν εἰς ἑαυτὸ συστραφὲν ἀρκεσθῇ ἑαυτῷ, μὴ ποιοῦν τι ὃ μὴ θέλει, κἂν ἀλόγως παρατάξηται. τί οὖν, ὅταν καὶ μετὰ λόγου καὶ περιεσκεμμένως κρίνῃ περί τινος; διὰ τοῦτο ἀκρόπολίς ἐστιν ἡ ἐλευθέρα παθῶν διάνοια· οὐδὲν γὰρ ὀχυρώτερον ἔχει ἄνθρωπος, ἐφ’ ὃ καταφυγὼν ἀνάλωτος λοιπὸν ἂν εἴη. ὁ μὲν οὖν μὴ ἑωρακὼς τοῦτο ἀμαθής, ὁ δὲ ἑωρακὼς καὶ μὴ καταφεύγων ἀτυχής.
Say nothing more to thyself than what the first appearances report. Suppose that it has been reported to thee that a certain person speaks ill of thee. […]
Μηδὲν πλέον σαυτῷ λέγε ὧν αἱ προηγούμεναι φαντασίαι ἀναγγέλλουσιν. ἤγγελται ὅτι ὁ δεῖνά σε κακῶς λέγει. ἤγγελται τοῦτο· τὸ δέ, ὅτι βέβλαψαι, οὐκ ἤγγελται. βλέπω ὅτι νοσεῖ τὸ παιδίον. βλέπω· ὅτι δὲ κινδυνεύει, οὐ βλέπω. οὕτως οὖν μένε ἀεὶ ἐπὶ τῶν πρώτων φαντασιῶν καὶ μηδὲν αὐτὸς ἔνδοθεν ἐπίλεγε καὶ οὐδέν σοι γίνεται· μᾶλλον δὲ ἐπίλεγε ὡς γνωρίζων ἕκαστα τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ συμβαινόντων.
How the shared form came about
The form usually shared is a modern rewording, which Wikiquote lists under the Meditations with no translator named, so it isn’t printed here. The Greek and Long’s translation above are the real passage.
In context
An entry in Book 8 that goes on past these lines: if the pain comes from one’s own disposition, nothing hinders correcting one’s opinion; if it comes from not doing something that seems right, one should act rather than complain; if something insuperable stands in the way, one is not to grieve, since the cause is not in one’s power; and one may leave life contentedly if the thing cannot be done.
What it says
What hurts is how we judge an outside event, and the judgement can be changed at once.
Often misread
Read alone it sounds like a self-help promise that pain is optional. In the entry itself, Marcus goes on to treat acting and, if blocked, accepting what is not in one’s power, and speaks of leaving life as the last resort.
Topics
Related quotes
- You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. (not found)
- Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by the opinions about the things. Epictetus
- We are troubled more often by opinion than by fact. Seneca the Younger
- Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life. Epictetus
- Loss is nothing else than change.
Sources
- standardebooks.org/ebooks/marcus-aurelius/meditations/george-long/text/single-page (George Long translation, first published 1862; corpus meditations.en.txt, line 347)
- cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit@70427323b61267cdcd0256b9b02009c23392de07/data/tlg0562/tlg001/tlg0562.tlg001.perseus-grc2.xml (Greek text; corpus meditations.el.txt, line 401)
- en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius
Cite it
“If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs thee, but thy own judgement about it. And it is in thy power to wipe out this judgement now.” Attributed to Marcus Aurelius. Not in these words. The idea is in Meditations (180), Book 8, section 47 (opening). Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/if-you-are-distressed-by-anything-external-it-is-your-judgement/ (checked 31 October 2026).
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