The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrong doer.
Genuine
Yes. In Meditations (180), Book 6, section 6.
Found word for word by program in the Greek original and in George Long’s English translation (1862).
- Work
- Meditations (Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν), 180
- Where
- Book 6, section 6
- Found at
- Paragraph 210 of the Greek text, 160 of the English
- Translation
- George Long, 1862
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
The reason which governs knows what its own disposition is, and what it does, and on what material it works.
Ὁ διοικῶν λόγος οἶδε πῶς διακείμενος καὶ τί ποιεῖ καὶ ἐπὶ τίνος ὕλης.
The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrong doer.
Ἄριστος τρόπος τοῦ ἀμύνεσθαι τὸ μὴ ἐξομοιοῦσθαι.
Take pleasure in one thing and rest in it, in passing from one social act to another social act, thinking of God.
Ἑνὶ τέρπου καὶ προσαναπαύου, τῷ ἀπὸ πράξεως κοινωνικῆς μεταβαίνειν ἐπὶ πρᾶξιν κοινωνικὴν σὺν μνήμῃ θεοῦ.
The ruling principle is that which rouses and turns itself, and while it makes itself such as it is and such as it wills to be, it also makes everything which happens appear to itself to be such as it wills.
Τὸ ἡγεμονικόν ἐστι τὸ ἑαυτὸ ἐγεῖρον καὶ τρέπον καὶ ποιοῦν μὲν ἑαυτὸ οἷον ἂν καὶ θέλῃ, ποιοῦν δὲ ἑαυτῷ φαίνεσθαι πᾶν τὸ συμβαῖνον οἷον αὐτὸ θέλει.
The scene
A complete, very short entry in Marcus’s private notebook. It follows reminders about change and the governing reason, and is followed by an instruction to take satisfaction in passing from one social action to another. No particular enemy or incident is named.
What it means
Answer wrongdoing by refusing to acquire the wrongdoer’s character yourself.
Often misread
This does not recommend outdoing an enemy in success so that they feel defeated. Its test is your own character: retaliating in the same spirit would make you resemble the person who wronged you.
Topics
Related quotes
- No longer talk at all about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, but be such.
- Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. Elbert Hubbard
- It does not matter what you bear, but how you bear it. Seneca the Younger
- It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live. (paraphrase)
- If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it.
Sources
- standardebooks.org/ebooks/marcus-aurelius/meditations/george-long/text/single-page (George Long translation, first published 1862; corpus meditations.en.txt, line 160)
- cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit@70427323b61267cdcd0256b9b02009c23392de07/data/tlg0562/tlg001/tlg0562.tlg001.perseus-grc2.xml (Greek text, book 6, chapter 6; corpus meditations.el.txt, line 210)
Cite it
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (180), Book 6, section 6, translated by George Long (1862). Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/the-best-revenge-is-not-to-be-like-your-enemy/ (31 October 2026).
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Checked by people
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