Be the headland. Let the waves break.
"Be like the promontory against which the waves continually break"
Meditations 4.49, George Long, 1862
Stand firm and calm the water around you.
"it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it"
Meditations 4.49, George Long, 1862
Bad luck? Bearing it well is good luck.
"not that this is a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune"
Meditations 4.49, George Long, 1862
Drop the story. Round the point. Find the flat bay.
"Take away then, when thou choosest, thy opinion, and like a mariner, who has doubled the promontory, thou wilt find calm, everything stable, and a waveless bay"
Meditations 12.22, George Long, 1862
Caught in the storm? You still steer your own mind.
"be content that in such a tempest thou hast in thyself a certain ruling intelligence"
Meditations 12.14, George Long, 1862
The whole sea is one drop in the universe.
"all the sea a drop in the universe"
Meditations 6.36, George Long, 1862
Time is a river with a hard current.
"Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream"
Meditations 4.43, George Long, 1862
Everything changes, wave after wave. Hold it lightly.
"the changes and transformations which follow one another like wave after wave"
Meditations 9.28, George Long, 1862
Never be surprised by a headwind.
"for the physician and the helmsman it is a shame to be surprised, if a man has a fever, or if the wind is unfavourable"
Meditations 8.15, George Long, 1862
This shore is like any other. Bring your calm with you.
"all things here are the same with things on top of a mountain, or on the seashore, or wherever thou choosest to be"
Meditations 10.23, George Long, 1862
No beach house needed. Retreat into yourself.
"Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, seashores, and mountains ... it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself"
Meditations 4.3, George Long, 1862
Zoom out: storms, calms, a million voyages. Same sea.
"Look down from above on ... the infinitely varied voyagings in storms and calms"
Meditations 9.30, George Long, 1862
You sailed. You made the crossing. Step ashore.
"Thou hast embarked, thou hast made the voyage, thou art come to shore; get out"
Meditations 3.3, George Long, 1862
Curse a clear spring and it still runs clean.
"if a man should stand by a limpid pure spring, and curse it, the spring never ceases sending up potable water"
Meditations 8.51, George Long, 1862
Be a fountain, not a well.
"How then shalt thou possess a perpetual fountain and not a mere well?"
Meditations 8.51, George Long, 1862
Dig inward. The good keeps rising.
"Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig"
Meditations 7.59, George Long, 1862
A strong fire eats whatever you throw on it.
"when the fire is strong, it soon appropriates to itself the matter which is heaped on it, and consumes it, and rises higher by means of this very material"
Meditations 4.1, George Long, 1862
Be the blaze. Turn everything into light.
"as the blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it"
Meditations 10.31, George Long, 1862
What blocks the road helps you along it.
"that which is an obstacle on the road helps us on this road"
Meditations 5.20, George Long, 1862
Every setback is raw material.
"the rational animal is able to make every hindrance its own material"
Meditations 8.35, George Long, 1862
Oh good. This is exactly what I needed to practice on.
"Thou art the thing that I was seeking; for to me that which presents itself is always a material for virtue"
Meditations 7.68, George Long, 1862
Knocked off rhythm? Get back in tune fast.
"quickly return to thyself and do not continue out of tune longer than the compulsion lasts"
Meditations 6.11, George Long, 1862
Fell short? Come back. Start again.
"when thou hast failed, return back again"
Meditations 5.9, George Long, 1862
If a human can do it, so can you.
"if anything is possible for man and conformable to his nature, think that this can be attained by thyself too"
Meditations 6.19, George Long, 1862
Train the hand you think is useless.
"Practise thyself even in the things which thou despairest of accomplishing. For even the left hand ... holds the bridle more vigorously than the right"
Meditations 12.6, George Long, 1862
Up. You were built for the work, not the blankets.
"Or have I been made for this, to lie in the bedclothes and keep myself warm?"
Meditations 5.1, George Long, 1862
Any animal can sleep in. Get up and act.
"it is according to thy constitution ... to perform social acts, but sleeping is common also to irrational animals"
Meditations 8.12, George Long, 1862
Do this like it's the last thing you'll ever do.
"if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last"
Meditations 2.5, George Long, 1862
Treat today as the last one: steady, awake, and real.
"passing every day as the last, and in being neither violently excited nor torpid nor playing the hypocrite"
Meditations 7.69, George Long, 1862
You don't have ten thousand years. Be good while you can.
"Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years ... While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good"
Meditations 4.17, George Long, 1862
The present is all anyone can lose.
"the present is the only thing of which a man can be deprived"
Meditations 2.14, George Long, 1862
Keep to the present.
"Confine thyself to the present"
Meditations 7.29, George Long, 1862
Leave the wrong where it happened.
"Let the wrong which is done by a man stay there where the wrong was done"
Meditations 7.29, George Long, 1862
Don't fear the end. Fear never really starting.
"be afraid not because thou must some time cease to live, but if thou shalt fear never to have begun to live according to nature"
Meditations 12.1, George Long, 1862
Your time has an edge. Clear the clouds now.
"a limit of time is fixed for thee, which if thou dost not use for clearing away the clouds from thy mind, it will go"
Meditations 2.4, George Long, 1862
Stop drifting. Come to your own rescue while you can.
"No longer wander at hazard ... come to thy own aid ... while it is in thy power"
Meditations 3.14, George Long, 1862
You'd rather be good tomorrow. Be good today.
"thou choosest rather to become good tomorrow than to be good today"
Meditations 8.22, George Long, 1862
Less talk about being good. More being good.
"No longer talk at all about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, but be such"
Meditations 10.16, George Long, 1862
Not right? Don't do it. Not true? Don't say it.
"If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it"
Meditations 12.17, George Long, 1862
Live so that anyone who calls you bad is a liar.
"Let it not be in any man's power to say truly of thee that thou art not simple or that thou art not good; but let him be a liar"
Meditations 10.32, George Long, 1862
Whatever they say, stay emerald.
"Whatever anyone does or says, I must be emerald and keep my colour"
Meditations 7.15, George Long, 1862
Is an emerald worse for nobody praising it?
"Is such a thing as an emerald made worse than it was, if it is not praised?"
Meditations 4.20, George Long, 1862
Thoughts are dye. Pick your colors.
"Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts"
Meditations 5.16, George Long, 1862
Anywhere you can live, you can live well.
"where a man can live, there he can also live well"
Meditations 5.16, George Long, 1862
The quietest place on earth is inside you.
"nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire than into his own soul"
Meditations 4.3, George Long, 1862
The world is motion. Life is your read on it.
"The universe is transformation: life is opinion"
Meditations 4.3, George Long, 1862
Drop "I've been wronged" and the wrong goes with it.
"Take away the complaint, "I have been harmed," and the harm is taken away"
Meditations 4.7, George Long, 1862
It's not the thing. It's your take, and you can change it now.
"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"
Meditations 8.47, George Long, 1862
Act instead of complaining.
"why dost thou not rather act than complain?"
Meditations 8.47, George Long, 1862
You don't have to have an opinion about it.
"It is in our power to have no opinion about a thing, and not to be disturbed in our soul"
Meditations 6.52, George Long, 1862
Throw out the opinion. You're free.
"Cast away opinion: thou art saved"
Meditations 12.25, George Long, 1862
All is opinion.
"Remember that all is opinion"
Meditations 2.15, George Long, 1862
Today I threw out every trouble. They were never outside me.
"I have cast out all trouble, for it was not outside, but within and in my opinions"
Meditations 9.13, George Long, 1862
A calm mind is a citadel.
"the mind which is free from passions is a citadel"
Meditations 8.48, George Long, 1862
Report what you see. Add nothing.
"abide by the first appearances, and add nothing thyself from within"
Meditations 8.49, George Long, 1862
Bitter cucumber? Toss it. Thorns on the trail? Step around.
"A cucumber is bitter. Throw it away. There are briars in the road. Turn aside from them. This is enough"
Meditations 8.50, George Long, 1862
Don't carry your whole life at once. Just this part.
"Do not disturb thyself by thinking of the whole of thy life"
Meditations 8.36, George Long, 1862
Tomorrow gets the same mind you have today.
"Let not future things disturb thee, for thou wilt come to them ... having with thee the same reason which now thou usest"
Meditations 7.8, George Long, 1862
Don't be the one who's shocked that life happens.
"How ridiculous and what a stranger he is who is surprised at anything which happens in life"
Meditations 12.13, George Long, 1862
Afraid of change? Nothing happens without it.
"Is any man afraid of change? Why what can take place without change?"
Meditations 7.18, George Long, 1862
Nature loves nothing more than change.
"the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are and to make new things like them"
Meditations 4.36, George Long, 1862
Life is wrestling, not ballet. Stay braced.
"The art of life is more like the wrestler's art than the dancer's ... it should stand ready and firm to meet onsets which are sudden and unexpected"
Meditations 7.61, George Long, 1862
Carry your principles like fists. You can't drop them.
"the gladiator lets fall the sword which he uses and is killed; but the other always has his hand"
Meditations 12.9, George Long, 1862
Take life's hits like sparring: no grudge, just move.
"we neither show any signs of vexation, nor are we offended ... but we quietly get out of his way"
Meditations 6.20, George Long, 1862
Don't let your spirit quit before your body does.
"It is a shame for the soul to be first to give way in this life, when thy body does not give way"
Meditations 6.29, George Long, 1862
No shame in a hand up the wall.
"Be not ashamed to be helped ... if being lame thou canst not mount up on the battlements alone, but with the help of another it is possible"
Meditations 7.7, George Long, 1862
Stand up straight on your own.
"A man then must stand erect, not be kept erect by others"
Meditations 3.5, George Long, 1862
Expect nothing. Fear nothing. Do the work in front of you.
"expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity"
Meditations 3.12, George Long, 1862
Choose the better thing. Hold on.
"simply and freely choose the better, and hold to it"
Meditations 3.6, George Long, 1862
Keep your principles ready, like a surgeon's tools.
"As physicians have always their instruments and knives ready ... so do thou have principles ready"
Meditations 3.13, George Long, 1862
Nothing without a purpose.
"Let no act be done without a purpose"
Meditations 4.2, George Long, 1862
Ask: is this necessary?
"on every occasion a man should ask himself, Is this one of the unnecessary things?"
Meditations 4.24, George Long, 1862
Make yourself all simplicity.
"Make thyself all simplicity"
Meditations 4.26, George Long, 1862
Take the short way. It's the natural one.
"Always run to the short way; and the short way is the natural"
Meditations 4.51, George Long, 1862
A happy life takes very little.
"very little indeed is necessary for living a happy life"
Meditations 7.67, George Long, 1862
You can be extraordinary and known by no one.
"it is very possible to be a divine man and to be recognised as such by no one"
Meditations 7.67, George Long, 1862
Think less about what you lack. More about what you have.
"Think not so much of what thou hast not as of what thou hast"
Meditations 7.27, George Long, 1862
Take success without ego. Be ready to let it go.
"Receive wealth or prosperity without arrogance; and be ready to let it go"
Meditations 8.34, George Long, 1862
Want little. Work with your hands.
"to want little, and to work with my own hands"
Meditations 1.5, George Long, 1862
Cheerful always. Never rushed. Never putting it off.
"cheerfulness in all circumstances ... he was never in a hurry, and never put off doing a thing"
Meditations 1.15, George Long, 1862
Know when to charge and when to ease off.
"a knowledge derived from experience of the occasions for vigorous action and for remission"
Meditations 1.16, George Long, 1862
Same person in pain, in loss, in the long haul.
"to be always the same, in sharp pains, on the occasion of the loss of a child, and in long illness"
Meditations 1.8, George Long, 1862
Love your craft, however small. Be no one's tyrant and no one's servant.
"Love the art, poor as it may be, which thou hast learned ... making thyself neither the tyrant nor the slave of any man"
Meditations 4.31, George Long, 1862
Don't let power turn you into a Caesar.
"Take care that thou art not made into a Caesar, that thou art not dyed with this dye"
Meditations 6.30, George Long, 1862
Stay simple. Stay good. Stay kind. Life is short.
"Keep thyself then simple, good, pure, serious ... kind, affectionate ... Short is life"
Meditations 6.30, George Long, 1862
Do nothing in a hurry.
"how he did nothing in a hurry"
Meditations 6.30, George Long, 1862
Prove me wrong and I'll gladly change. Truth never hurt anyone.
"If any man is able to convince me and show me that I do not think or act right, I will gladly change; for I seek the truth by which no man was ever injured"
Meditations 6.21, George Long, 1862
Changing your mind is still your free choice.
"to change thy opinion and to follow him who corrects thy error is as consistent with freedom as it is to persist in thy error"
Meditations 8.16, George Long, 1862
Listen until you're inside the speaker's head.
"Accustom thyself to attend carefully to what is said by another, and as much as it is possible, be in the speaker's mind"
Meditations 6.53, George Long, 1862
What's bad for the hive is bad for the bee.
"That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it good for the bee"
Meditations 6.54, George Long, 1862
You'll meet rude people today. They can't make you one of them.
"I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant ... I can neither be injured by any of them"
Meditations 2.1, George Long, 1862
Made to work together, like hands, like feet.
"For we are made for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids"
Meditations 2.1, George Long, 1862
People exist for each other. Teach them or put up with them.
"Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them"
Meditations 8.59, George Long, 1862
Teach them. Show them. Skip the anger.
"Teach them then, and show them without being angry"
Meditations 6.27, George Long, 1862
Real kindness is unbeatable.
"a good disposition is invincible, if it be genuine, and not an affected smile and acting a part"
Meditations 11.18, George Long, 1862
Gentleness is strength. Anger is a wound.
"he who possesses these qualities possesses strength ... he who yields to pain and he who yields to anger, both are wounded"
Meditations 11.18, George Long, 1862
The anger costs more than the thing that caused it.
"how much more pain is brought on us by the anger and vexation caused by such acts than by the acts themselves"
Meditations 11.18, George Long, 1862
Whoever does wrong, wrongs himself first.
"He who does wrong does wrong against himself"
Meditations 9.4, George Long, 1862
Doing nothing can be the wrong.
"He often acts unjustly who does not do a certain thing; not only he who does a certain thing"
Meditations 9.5, George Long, 1862
Did something good? Don't send an invoice.
"dost thou seek to be paid for it? Just as if the eye demanded a recompense for seeing, or the feet for walking"
Meditations 9.42, George Long, 1862
Do good like a vine makes grapes. Then make more.
"he is like a vine which has produced grapes, and seeks for nothing more ... as a vine goes on to produce again the grapes in season"
Meditations 5.6, George Long, 1862
Did some good? That was the reward. Keep going.
"Have I done something for the general interest? Well then I have had my reward ... never stop doing such good"
Meditations 11.4, George Long, 1862
You did good and someone got it. Why want a third thing?
"why dost thou look for a third thing besides these, as fools do, either to have the reputation of having done a good act or to obtain a return?"
Meditations 7.73, George Long, 1862
What's your craft? Being good.
"What is thy art? To be good"
Meditations 11.5, George Long, 1862
If someone's wrong, show them kindly.
"If a man is mistaken, instruct him kindly and show him his error"
Meditations 10.4, George Long, 1862
Annoyed by their flaw? Check your own first.
"When thou art offended at any man's fault, forthwith turn to thyself and reflect in what like manner thou dost err thyself"
Meditations 10.30, George Long, 1862
Before asking why they did it, ask why you do it.
"For what object is this man doing this? But begin with thyself, and examine thyself first"
Meditations 10.37, George Long, 1862
If he did wrong, the harm is his. Maybe he didn't.
"If any man has done wrong, the harm is his own. But perhaps he has not done wrong"
Meditations 9.38, George Long, 1862
Someone wronged me? That's theirs to carry.
"Does another do me wrong? Let him look to it"
Meditations 5.25, George Long, 1862
I do my part. The rest doesn't trouble me.
"I do my duty: other things trouble me not"
Meditations 6.22, George Long, 1862
Stop watching other lanes. Ride your own line.
"look not round at the depraved morals of others, but run straight along the line without deviating from it"
Meditations 4.18, George Long, 1862
Don't spend your life guessing what others are up to.
"Do not waste the remainder of thy life in thoughts about others"
Meditations 3.4, George Long, 1862
Fight the noblest fight.
"a fighter in the noblest fight"
Meditations 3.4, George Long, 1862
Stop asking how you look to others.
"throw away the thought, How thou shalt seem to others"
Meditations 8.1, George Long, 1862
We love ourselves most, yet trust others' opinion of us more.
"every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others"
Meditations 12.4, George Long, 1862
Applause is just tongues clapping.
"the praise which comes from the many is a clapping of tongues"
Meditations 6.16, George Long, 1862
Want praise from someone who can't stand himself?
"Wouldst thou wish to please a man who does not please himself?"
Meditations 8.53, George Long, 1862
Everything lasts a day, the one who remembers and the one remembered.
"Everything is only for a day, both that which remembers and that which is remembered"
Meditations 4.35, George Long, 1862
New sand covers old sand. So goes fame.
"as the heaps of sand piled on one another hide the former sands, so in life the events which go before are soon covered by those which come after"
Meditations 7.34, George Long, 1862
A name is sound and echo.
"name is sound and echo"
Meditations 5.33, George Long, 1862
Don't wait for a perfect world. Celebrate the smallest thing going right.
"nor yet expect Plato's Republic: but be content if the smallest thing goes on well, and consider such an event to be no small matter"
Meditations 9.29, George Long, 1862
No time to read? You have time to check your ego.
"Thou hast not leisure to read. But thou hast leisure to check arrogance"
Meditations 8.8, George Long, 1862
Let no one hear you complain about your life again.
"Let no man any longer hear thee finding fault with the court life or with thy own"
Meditations 8.9, George Long, 1862
Can you fix it? Fix it. Can't? Then why complain?
"if thou canst, correct that which is the cause ... but if thou canst not do even this, of what use is it to thee to find fault?"
Meditations 8.17, George Long, 1862
People will keep doing what they do, even if you explode.
"men will do the same things nevertheless, even though thou shouldst burst"
Meditations 8.4, George Long, 1862
Before you act, ask: will I regret this?
"On the occasion of every act ask thyself ... Shall I repent of it?"
Meditations 8.2, George Long, 1862
Don't get rattled. Eyes on the work.
"Be not perturbed ... having fixed thy eyes steadily on thy business look at it"
Meditations 8.5, George Long, 1862
Throw me anywhere. I'll keep my calm.
"Take me and cast me where thou wilt; for there I shall keep my divine part tranquil"
Meditations 8.45, George Long, 1862
See clearly. Act well. Accept what comes. That's enough.
"Thy present opinion founded on understanding, and thy present conduct directed to social good, and thy present disposition of contentment with everything which happens, that is enough"
Meditations 9.6, George Long, 1862
Wipe out the fantasy. Rein in the craving. Stay in command.
"Wipe out imagination; check desire; extinguish appetite; keep the ruling faculty in its own power"
Meditations 9.7, George Long, 1862
Don't work like you want pity or applause.
"Labour not as one who is wretched, nor yet as one who would be pitied or admired"
Meditations 9.12, George Long, 1862
Most of what bugs you lives in your head. Clear it and make room.
"Thou canst remove out of the way many useless things among those which disturb thee, for they lie entirely in thy opinion; and thou wilt then gain for thyself ample space"
Meditations 9.32, George Long, 1862
Don't ask for an easier road. Ask to fear it less.
"why dost thou not pray for them to give thee the faculty of not fearing any of the things which thou fearest"
Meditations 9.40, George Long, 1862
See it clearly? Go. Can't see? Stop and ask the best.
"if thou seest clear, go by this way content, without turning back: but if thou dost not see clear, stop and take the best advisers"
Meditations 10.12, George Long, 1862
If you fail, fail going for the right thing.
"if thou dost fail, let thy failure be in attempting this"
Meditations 10.12, George Long, 1862
Calm and active at the same time.
"He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time"
Meditations 10.12, George Long, 1862
Live like you're on a mountaintop. It's the same world.
"Live as on a mountain. For it makes no difference whether a man lives there or here"
Meditations 10.15, George Long, 1862
A healthy eye doesn't demand only green things.
"The healthy eye ought to see all visible things and not to say, I wish for green things"
Meditations 10.35, George Long, 1862
One aim, held for life, makes one person.
"He who has not one and always the same object in life, cannot be one and the same all through his life"
Meditations 11.21, George Long, 1862
Look up at dawn. There's no veil over a star.
"The Pythagoreans bid us in the morning look to the heavens ... For there is no veil over a star"
Meditations 11.27, George Long, 1862
Stack one good thing on the next. Leave no gaps.
"to enjoy life by joining one good thing to another so as not to leave even the smallest intervals between"
Meditations 12.29, George Long, 1862
The lamp shines until it's out. Don't go dark early.
"Does the light of the lamp shine without losing its splendour until it is extinguished; and shall the truth which is in thee and justice and temperance be extinguished before thy death?"
Meditations 12.15, George Long, 1862
There's something in you better than the strings that pull you.
"thou hast in thee something better and more divine than the things which cause the various affects, and as it were pull thee by the strings"
Meditations 12.19, George Long, 1862
You can't escape other people's flaws. You can escape your own.
"It is a ridiculous thing for a man not to fly from his own badness, which is indeed possible, but to fly from other men's badness, which is impossible"
Meditations 7.71, George Long, 1862
Love what comes.
"Love that only which happens to thee and is spun with the thread of thy destiny"
Meditations 7.57, George Long, 1862
Count your life as complete. Live the rest as a bonus, and live it right.
"Consider thyself to be dead, and to have completed thy life up to the present time; and live according to nature the remainder which is allowed thee"
Meditations 7.56, George Long, 1862
Run with the stars. It washes the mind.
"Look round at the courses of the stars, as if thou wert going along with them ... for such thoughts purge away the filth of the terrene life"
Meditations 7.47, George Long, 1862
Wear simplicity. Love people.
"Adorn thyself with simplicity and modesty ... Love mankind"
Meditations 7.31, George Long, 1862
Love even the ones who get it wrong.
"It is peculiar to man to love even those who do wrong"
Meditations 7.22, George Long, 1862
Keep fanning your principles. They only die if you let them.
"How can our principles become dead, unless the impressions which correspond to them are extinguished? But it is in thy power continuously to fan these thoughts into a flame"
Meditations 7.2, George Long, 1862
You can start living again. See things the way you used to.
"To recover thy life is in thy power. Look at things again as thou didst use to look at them"
Meditations 7.2, George Long, 1862
You're worth what you spend your energy on.
"every man is worth just so much as the things are worth about which he busies himself"
Meditations 7.3, George Long, 1862
Need a lift? Count the good in the people around you.
"When thou wishest to delight thyself, think of the virtues of those who live with thee"
Meditations 6.48, George Long, 1862
Love the crew you landed with. For real.
"the men among whom thou hast received thy portion, love them, but do it truly, sincerely"
Meditations 6.39, George Long, 1862
The sun doesn't do the rain's job. Do yours.
"Does the sun undertake to do the work of the rain?"
Meditations 6.43, George Long, 1862
Cold or warm, tired or rested, praised or not: do the job well.
"Let it make no difference to thee whether thou art cold or warm, if thou art doing thy duty; and whether thou art drowsy or satisfied with sleep; and whether ill-spoken of or praised"
Meditations 6.2, George Long, 1862
Strip the hype off things. See them bare.
"we ought to lay them bare and look at their worthlessness and strip them of all the words by which they are exalted"
Meditations 6.13, George Long, 1862
Nothing happens to you that you weren't built to bear.
"Nothing happens to any man which he is not formed by nature to bear"
Meditations 5.18, George Long, 1862
Good luck is a good mind, good feelings, good acts.
"a good fortune is good disposition of the soul, good emotions, good actions"
Meditations 5.36, George Long, 1862
No talent for it? Honesty, grit and calm need none.
"Show those qualities then which are altogether in thy power, sincerity, gravity, endurance of labour ... in which there is no excuse of natural incapacity"
Meditations 5.5, George Long, 1862
Ignore the blame. Go straight on.
"be not diverted by the blame which follows from any people ... but go straight on"
Meditations 5.3, George Long, 1862
Never trade your word or your self-respect for profit.
"Never value anything as profitable to thyself which shall compel thee to break thy promise, to lose thy self-respect"
Meditations 3.7, George Long, 1862
Learn something new and good. Stop spinning.
"Give thyself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around"
Meditations 2.7, George Long, 1862
No one's miserable for not reading other minds. Plenty are for not reading their own.
"Through not observing what is in the mind of another a man has seldom been seen to be unhappy; but those who do not observe the movements of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy"
Meditations 2.8, George Long, 1862
Life is a campaign and a short visit.
"life is a warfare and a stranger's sojourn"
Meditations 2.17, George Long, 1862
Got reason? Use it.
"Hast thou reason? I have. Why then dost not thou use it?"
Meditations 4.13, George Long, 1862
See things as they are, not as the one who wronged you wants.
"Do not have such an opinion of things as he has who does thee wrong, or such as he wishes thee to have, but look at them as they are in truth"
Meditations 4.11, George Long, 1862
Honest thoughts. Generous acts. Words that never lie.
"thoughts just, and acts social, and words which never lie, and a disposition which gladly accepts all that happens"
Meditations 4.33, George Long, 1862
Fall like a ripe olive, thanking the tree.
"end thy journey in content, just as an olive falls off when it is ripe, blessing nature who produced it, and thanking the tree on which it grew"
Meditations 4.48, George Long, 1862
Lose your good name with yourself? Take it back fast.
"When thou hast assumed these names, good, modest, true ... if thou shouldst lose them, quickly return to them"
Meditations 10.8, George Long, 1862
Don't claim you're blocked. Make no excuses.
"it is in thy power to do it or to say it, and do not make excuses that thou art hindered"
Meditations 10.33, George Long, 1862
Learn to follow the rules before you write them.
"Neither in writing nor in reading wilt thou be able to lay down rules for others before thou shalt have first learned to obey rules thyself"
Meditations 11.29, George Long, 1862
Don't announce your honesty. It's in your eyes.
"There is no occasion to give this notice. It will soon show itself by acts ... he immediately shows it in his eyes"
Meditations 11.15, George Long, 1862
Say what you actually think.
"among the most absurd of things for a man not to speak from his real thoughts"
Meditations 11.19, George Long, 1862
My joy: a sound mind and welcome eyes for whatever comes.
"it is my delight to keep the ruling faculty sound ... looking at and receiving all with welcome eyes"
Meditations 8.43, George Long, 1862
Pride that's proud of its humility is the worst kind.
"the pride which is proud of its want of pride is the most intolerable of all"
Meditations 12.27, George Long, 1862
Live in truth and justice. Stay kind, even to liars.
"to pass thy life in truth and justice, with a benevolent disposition even to liars and unjust men"
Meditations 6.47, George Long, 1862
Bread cracks as it bakes, and the cracks are beautiful.
"when bread is baked some parts are split at the surface ... are beautiful in a manner"
Meditations 3.2, George Long, 1862
A world without shameless people is impossible. Stop requiring one.
"Is it possible, then, that shameless men should not be in the world? It is not possible. Do not, then, require what is impossible"
Meditations 9.42, George Long, 1862
I've never meant to hurt anyone. Why hurt myself?
"It is not fit that I should give myself pain, for I have never intentionally given pain even to another"
Meditations 8.42, George Long, 1862
The Spartans gave guests the shade and sat anywhere themselves.
"The Lacedaemonians at their public spectacles used to set seats in the shade for strangers, but themselves sat down anywhere"
Meditations 11.24, George Long, 1862
Want revenge? Refuse to become like them.
"Ἄριστος τρόπος τοῦ ἀμύνεσθαι τὸ μὴ ἐξομοιοῦσθαι."
Meditations 6.6, our translation from the Greek
Stronger on the mat. Not kinder, humbler or steadier.
"Καββαλικώτερος, ἀλλ’ οὐχὶ κοινωνικώτερος οὐδὲ αἰδημονέστερος οὐδ’ εὐτακτότερος ἐπὶ τοῖς συμβαίνουσιν"
Meditations 7.52, our translation from the Greek
Pain is neither unbearable nor endless.
"ὅτι οὔτε ἀφόρητον οὔτε αἰώνιον"
Meditations 7.64, our translation from the Greek
Build your life one action at a time.
"Συντιθέναι δεῖ τὸν βίον κατὰ μίαν πρᾶξιν"
Meditations 8.32, our translation from the Greek
No one can stop you from giving each act its best.
"ἵνα δὲ τὸ ἑαυτῆς παρέχῃ, οὐδὲ εἷς σε κωλῦσαι δύναται."
Meditations 8.32, our translation from the Greek
Take the right road and you can always flow.
"Δύνασαι ἀεὶ εὐροεῖν, εἴ γε καὶ εὐοδεῖν"
Meditations 5.34, our translation from the Greek
One life each. Don't stake your happiness on other minds.
"εἷς γὰρ ὁ βίος ἑκάστῳ, οὗτος δέ σοι σχεδὸν διήνυσται, μὴ αἰδουμένῃ σεαυτήν, ἀλλ’ ἐν ταῖς ἄλλων ψυχαῖς τιθεμένῃ τὴν σὴν εὐμοιρίαν."
Meditations 2.6, our translation from the Greek
Death is close. Are you simple yet? Calm? Kind to all?
"Ἤδη τεθνήξῃ καὶ οὔπω οὔτε ἁπλοῦς οὔτε ἀτάραχος ... οὔτε ἵλεως πρὸς πάντας"
Meditations 4.37, our translation from the Greek
Endless time behind, endless ahead. Three days or three lifetimes: no difference.
"βλέπε γὰρ ὀπίσω τὸ ἀχανὲς τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ τὸ πρόσω ἄλλο ἄπειρον. ἐν δὴ τούτῳ τί διαφέρει ὁ τριήμερος τοῦ τριγερηνίου;"
Meditations 4.50, our translation from the Greek
Push the thought away and be flat calm.
"Ὡς εὔκολον ἀπώσασθαι καὶ ἀπαλεῖψαι πᾶσαν φαντασίαν ὀχληρὰν ἢ ἀνοίκειον καὶ εὐθὺς ἐν πάσῃ γαλήνῃ εἶναι."
Meditations 5.2, our translation from the Greek
Chasing the impossible is madness.
"Τὸ τὰ ἀδύνατα διώκειν μανικόν"
Meditations 5.17, our translation from the Greek
Things can't touch your soul. Only you move it.
"Τὰ πράγματα αὐτὰ οὐδ’ ὁπωστιοῦν ψυχῆς ἅπτεται ... τρέπει δὲ καὶ κινεῖ αὐτὴ ἑαυτὴν μόνη"
Meditations 5.19, our translation from the Greek
Look within.
"Ἔσω βλέπε· μηδενὸς πράγματος μήτε ἡ ἰδία ποιότης μήτε ἡ ἀξία παρατρεχέτω σε."
Meditations 6.3, our translation from the Greek
The vain bank on other people's actions. The wise, on their own.
"Ὁ μὲν φιλόδοξος ἀλλοτρίαν ἐνέργειαν ἴδιον ἀγαθὸν ὑπολαμβάνει ... ὁ δὲ νοῦν ἔχων ἰδίαν πρᾶξιν."
Meditations 6.51, our translation from the Greek
Sailors cursing the helmsman? He keeps steering.
"Εἰ κυβερνῶντα οἱ ναῦται ἢ ἰατρεύοντα οἱ κάμνοντες κακῶς ἔλεγον, ἄλλῳ τινὶ ἂν προσεῖχον ἢ πῶς αὐτὸς ἐνεργοίην τὸ τοῖς ἐμπλέουσι σωτήριον"
Meditations 6.55, our translation from the Greek
See the present and you've seen it all.
"Ὁ τὰ νῦν ἰδὼν πάντα ἑώρακεν"
Meditations 6.37, our translation from the Greek
Everything gets remade so the world stays young.
"Πάντα ὅσα ὁρᾷς ὅσον οὔπω μεταβαλεῖ ἡ τὰ ὅλα διοικοῦσα φύσις ... ἵνα ἀεὶ νεαρὸς ᾖ ὁ κόσμος."
Meditations 7.25, our translation from the Greek
Don't get angry at things. They don't care.
"Τοῖς πράγμασιν γὰρ οὐχὶ θυμοῦσθαι χρεών· μέλει γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐδέν."
Meditations 7.38, our translation from the Greek
Don't join the wailing. Don't get worked up.
"Μὴ συνεπιθρηνεῖν, μὴ σφύζειν."
Meditations 7.43, our translation from the Greek
No one loses the truth on purpose. Go easier on people.
"ʽΠᾶσα ψυχή, φησίν, ἄκουσα στέρεται ἀληθείας·ʼ ... ἔσῃ γὰρ πρὸς πάντας πρᾳότερος."
Meditations 7.63, our translation from the Greek
Never feel toward the cruel what the cruel feel toward people.
"Ὅρα μήποτέ τι τοιοῦτον πάθῃς πρὸς τοὺς ἀπανθρώπους, οἷον οἱ ἀπάνθρωποι πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους."
Meditations 7.65, our translation from the Greek
The gods put up with bad people forever. You're quitting already?
"σὺ δέ, ὅσον οὐδέπω λήγειν μέλλων, ἀπαυδᾷς, καὶ ταῦτα εἶς ὢν τῶν φαύλων;"
Meditations 7.70, our translation from the Greek
Nobody gets tired of being helped. Don't get tired of helping.
"Οὐδεὶς κάμνει ὠφελούμενος ... μὴ οὖν κάμνε ὠφελούμενος, ἐν ᾧ ὠφελεῖς."
Meditations 7.74, our translation from the Greek
The horse has a job. The vine has a job. What's yours?
"Ἕκαστον πρός τι γέγονεν, ἵππος, ἄμπελος. ... σὺ οὖν πρὸς τί;"
Meditations 8.19, our translation from the Greek
Joy is doing the work you were made for.
"Εὐφροσύνη ἀνθρώπου ποιεῖν τὰ ἴδια ἀνθρώπου"
Meditations 8.26, our translation from the Greek
Pain can hit the body. The mind keeps its own clear sky.
"ἀλλ’ ἔξεστιν αὐτῇ τὴν ἰδίαν αἰθρίαν καὶ γαλήνην διαφυλάσσειν"
Meditations 8.28, our translation from the Greek
Speak plainly. Speak soundly. Skip the show.
"Λαλεῖν καὶ ἐν συγκλήτῳ καὶ πρὸς πάνθ’ ὁντινοῦν κοσμίως, μὴ περιτράνως· ὑγιεῖ λόγῳ χρῆσθαι."
Meditations 8.30, our translation from the Greek
Even when it circles, the mind flies straight at its target.
"ὁ μέντοι νοῦς καὶ ὅταν εὐλαβῆται καὶ ὅταν περὶ τὴν σκέψιν στρέφηται, φέρεται κατ’ εὐθὺ οὐδὲν ἧττον καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον."
Meditations 8.60, our translation from the Greek
A thrown stone isn't hurt by falling or helped by rising.
"Τῷ ἀναρριφέντι λίθῳ οὐδὲν κακὸν τὸ κατενεχθῆναι οὐδὲ ἀγαθὸν τὸ ἀνενεχθῆναι."
Meditations 9.17, our translation from the Greek
Countless troubles, all from not trusting your own mind. Enough.
"Ἀνέτλης μύρια διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀρκεῖσθαι τῷ σῷ ἡγεμονικῷ ποιοῦντι ταῦτα, οἷα κατεσκεύασται. ἀλλὰ ἅλις."
Meditations 9.26, our translation from the Greek
Enough misery. Enough grumbling. Enough monkeying around.
"Ἅλις τοῦ ἀθλίου βίου καὶ γογγυσμοῦ καὶ πιθηκισμοῦ."
Meditations 9.37, our translation from the Greek
Good. Simple. Whole. Bare. When, my soul?
"Ἔσῃ ποτὲ ἆρα, ὦ ψυχή, ἀγαθὴ καὶ ἁπλῆ καὶ μία καὶ γυμνή"
Meditations 10.1, our translation from the Greek
Proud of the catch? So is the spider with its fly.
"Ἀράχνιον μυῖαν θηρᾶσαν μέγα φρονεῖ"
Meditations 10.10, our translation from the Greek
Give what you will. Take back what you will.
"δὸς ὃ θέλεις· ἀπόλαβε ὃ θέλεις."
Meditations 10.14, our translation from the Greek
Stay, leave, or die. That's the whole list. So cheer up.
"Ἤτοι ἐνταῦθα ζῇς καὶ ἤδη εἴθικας· ἢ ἔξω ὑπάγεις καὶ τοῦτο ἤθελες· ἢ ἀποθνῄσκεις καὶ ἀπελειτούργησας. παρὰ δὲ ταῦτα οὐδέν. οὐκοῦν εὐθύμει."
Meditations 10.22, our translation from the Greek
Everyone follows what happens. Only you can follow it willingly.
"μόνῳ τῷ λογικῷ ζῴῳ δέδοται τὸ ἑκουσίως ἕπεσθαι τοῖς γινομένοις, τὸ δὲ ἕπεσθαι ψιλὸν πᾶσιν ἀναγκαῖον."
Meditations 10.28, our translation from the Greek
Leaves on the wind. So is every generation.
"ʽφύλλα τὰ μέν τ’ ἄνεμος χαμάδις χέει· ὣς ἀνδρῶν γενεή.ʼ"
Meditations 10.34, our translation from the Greek
Stop chasing. Stop fleeing. Let things sit still.
"τὸ γοῦν κρῖμα τὸ περὶ αὐτῶν ἡσυχαζέτω κἀκεῖνα μενεῖ ἀτρεμοῦντα καὶ οὔτε διώκων οὔτε φεύγων ὀφθήσῃ."
Meditations 11.11, our translation from the Greek
They despise me? Their business. Mine is not to deserve it.
"Καταφρονήσει μού τις; ὄψεται. ἐγὼ δὲ ὄψομαι ἵνα μή τι καταφρονήσεως ἄξιον πράσσων ἣ λέγων εὑρίσκωμαι."
Meditations 11.13, our translation from the Greek
Despising each other, they flatter each other.
"Ἀλλήλων καταφρονοῦντες ἀλλήλοις ἀρεσκεύονται"
Meditations 11.14, our translation from the Greek
Soon you'll be no one, nowhere.
"Ὅτι μετ’ οὐ πολὺ οὐδεὶς οὐδαμοῦ ἔσῃ"
Meditations 12.21, our translation from the Greek
Everything hangs on how you use your mind. The rest is smoke.
"Πῶς ἑαυτῷ χρῆται τὸ ἡγεμονικόν; ἐν γὰρ τούτῳ τὸ πᾶν ἐστι. τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ἢ προαιρετικά ἐστιν ἢ ἀπροαίρετα, νεκρὰ καὶ καπνός."
Meditations 12.33, our translation from the Greek
Three acts can be the whole play.
"ἐν μέντοι τῷ βίῳ τὰ τρία ὅλον τὸ δρᾶμά ἐστι."
Meditations 12.36, our translation from the Greek
Exit kindly. The one releasing you is kind.
"ἄπιθι οὖν ἵλεως· καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἀπολύων ἵλεως."
Meditations 12.36, our translation from the Greek
Meet obstacles like sunlight: hold steady and light them up.
"μηδὲ μὴν καταπίπτειν, ἀλλὰ ἵστασθαι καὶ ἐπιλάμπειν τὸ δεχόμενον"
Meditations 8.57, our translation from the Greek
Wake up. Those were dreams. See today's troubles the same way.
"Ἀνάνηφε καὶ ἀνακαλοῦ σεαυτὸν καὶ ἐξυπνισθεὶς πάλιν καὶ ἐννοήσας ὅτι ὄνειροί σοι ἠνώχλουν, πάλιν ἐγρηγορὼς βλέπε ταῦτα, ὡς ἐκεῖνα ἔβλεπες."
Meditations 6.31, our translation from the Greek
Everything that happens is as ordinary as roses in spring.
"Πᾶν τὸ συμβαῖνον οὕτως σύνηθες καὶ γνώριμον ὡς τὸ ῥόδον ἐν τῷ ἔαρι καὶ ὀπώρα ἐν τῷ θέρει"
Meditations 4.44, our translation from the Greek
No bread, but I stay with my principles.
"ἄρτους οὐκ ἔχω, φησί, καὶ ἐμμένω τῷ λόγῳ."
Meditations 4.30, our translation from the Greek
Not up to the job? Get help or hand it over.
"εἰ δὲ μὴ ἐξαρκεῖ, ἤτοι παραχωρῶ τοῦ ἔργου τῷ δυναμένῳ κρεῖττον ἐπιτελέσαι ... ἢ πράσσω ὡς δύναμαι, προσπαραλαβὼν τὸν δυνάμενον"
Meditations 7.5, our translation from the Greek
You don't resent your weight. Why resent your years?
"Μήτι δυσχεραίνεις ὅτι τοσῶνδέ τινων λιτρῶν εἶ καὶ οὐ τριακοσίων; οὕτω δὴ καὶ ὅτι μέχρι τοσῶνδε ἐτῶν βιωτέον σοι"
Meditations 6.49, our translation from the Greek
Grains of incense on one altar. One falls first. No difference.
"Πολλὰ λιβανωτοῦ βωλάρια ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ βωμοῦ· τὸ μὲν προκατέπεσεν, τὸ δʼ ὕστερον, διαφέρει δʼ οὐδέν."
Meditations 4.15, our translation from the Greek
Return to your principles. In ten days, they'll call you a god.
"Ἐντὸς δέκα ἡμερῶν θεὸς αὐτοῖς τούτοις δόξεις οἷς νῦν θηρίον καὶ πίθηκος, ἐὰν ἀνακάμψῃς ἐπὶ τὰ δόγματα"
Meditations 4.16, our translation from the Greek
Alexander and his mule driver ended up in the same place.
"Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μακεδὼν καὶ ὁ ὀρεωκόμος αὐτοῦ ἀποθανόντες εἰς ταὐτὸ κατέστησαν"
Meditations 6.24, our translation from the Greek
Green grape, ripe bunch, raisin. Not an end. A change.
"Ὄμφαξ, σταφυλή, σταφίς, πάντα μεταβολαί, οὐκ εἰς τὸ μὴ ὄν, ἀλλὰ εἰς τὸ νῦν μὴ ὄν."
Meditations 11.35, our translation from the Greek
Nothing that dies falls out of the world.
"Ἔξω τοῦ κόσμου τὸ ἀποθανὸν οὐ πίπτει."
Meditations 8.18, our translation from the Greek
Pray simply and freely, or don't pray at all.
"ἤτοι οὐ δεῖ εὔχεσθαι ἢ οὕτως ἁπλῶς καὶ ἐλευθέρως."
Meditations 5.7, our translation from the Greek
Earth loves the rain. I love what the world is making.
"ʽἘρᾷ μὲν ὄμβρου γαῖα, ἐρᾷ δὲ ὁ σεμνὸς αἰθήρ,ʼ ἐρᾷ δὲ ὁ κόσμος ποιῆσαι ὃ ἂν μέλλῃ γίνεσθαι. λέγω οὖν τῷ κόσμῳ ὅτι σοὶ συνερῶ."
Meditations 10.21, our translation from the Greek
Cut off from one person, you're cut off from all.
"οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἀποσχισθεὶς ὅλης τῆς κοινωνίας ἀποπέπτωκε."
Meditations 11.8, our translation from the Greek
Broken off? You can graft back on.
"ἔξεστι γὰρ ἡμῖν πάλιν συμφῦναι τῷ προσεχεῖ"
Meditations 11.8, our translation from the Greek
A speck of earth, a blink of time. Only right action is big.
"ἐν πόστῳ δὲ βωλαρίῳ τῆς ὅλης γῆς ἕρπεις. πάντα ταῦτα ἐνθυμούμενος μηδὲν μέγα φαντάζου ἢ τό, ὡς μὲν ἡ σὴ φύσις ἄγει ποιεῖν"
Meditations 12.32, our translation from the Greek

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