Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Meditations, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Philosophy, The Mind, and Living Well
Relationships and The City
Nature and the Gods
Mortality and Dying Well
Summary
Analysis
1. Nature is governed by the logos, which does no evil and harms nothing.
All of life is divinely governed, which impacts a person’s attitude toward events, since the gods don’t have evil intentions
Themes
2. What matters is that a person does the right thing, no matter the circumstances—even if they’re dying or “busy with other assignments.”
Dying is just one more “assignment” for someone trained in philosophy.
Themes
8. The mind makes of itself what it chooses, out of what it experiences.
The most important thing is not what happens to a person, but what the mind makes of those things. Marcus emphasizes this lesson several times throughout Meditations, such as when he says that circumstances aren’t necessarily “fortunate” or “unfortunate”—it’s the mind that makes them that way.
Themes
10. If the universe is random, then there’s no reason for anxiety—a person will eventually be “dispersed.” On the other hand, if there’s order, then a person can be at peace, having faith in the ordering power.
Marcus doesn’t discount the possibility that the universe is random, but he doesn’t see this fundamentally changing a person’s attitude. Either way, he believes that there’s nothing to fear in life.
Themes
Get the entire Meditations LitChart as a printable PDF.
12. Pursuing both the court and philosophy is like having both a stepmother and a mother. The first deserves honor, but the second is the one you go home to.
Philosophy should be Marcus’s first allegiance—as his “home” and his nurturer—not his role in politics.
Themes
13. It’s important to pierce through one’s perceptions—breaking things down to see what they really are (things like roasted meat, or wine, or having sex). When we start getting attached to things, this helps us see that they’re really pointless.
There’s nothing wrong with material things, but when they’re broken down into their constituent parts, we can see that they’re not worth getting attached to. None of these things last.
Themes
15. The world is constantly in flux. Human life is like a river—the things we go past don’t offer us firm ground. As soon as we see them, they’re gone. Life itself—our breath—is no different.
Similarly, nothing lasts, including life. Life should be viewed as a fast-moving voyage in which the scenery constantly changes.
Themes
16. The only thing we should prize in life is to do what we’re made to do. Every trade or art has a specific goal; life is the same way. If we keep prizing lesser things, we’ll be susceptible to envy and fear, never at peace and angry at the gods. Only by prizing our own minds can we be satisfied with life.
In such a life, it’s important to maintain a clear goal so that a person’s mind isn’t constantly thrown off course. Material things can’t bring peace; only cultivating one’s mind can do that.
Themes
20. When sparring in a ring, we don’t blame others for gouging with their nails or head-butting; we just keep an eye on them. It’s the same in the rest of life—excuse others’ behavior, keep your distance, and don’t hate them.
Marcus doesn’t view other people as inherently bad. In any case, blaming them, even when they cause you harm amidst life’s struggles, accomplishes nothing.
Themes
21. Both Alexander the Great and his mule driver died and were absorbed into the universe.
It doesn’t matter if someone is the greatest of emperors, like Alexander—they die just like their servants do.
Themes
27. Don’t lose your temper when people act according to what they think is best for themselves. Instead, demonstrate to them that what they’re doing isn’t good.
It’s useless to get angry at people; it’s better to appeal to their rational nature by reasoning with them.
Themes
30. Marcus tells himself to “be the person philosophy has tried to make you.” Antoninus should be his model: he was steady, reverent, modest, and methodical in everything. He was satisfied with little things in life, he worked hard all day, and he was pious toward the gods without lapsing into superstition. Imitating him is the path to a clear conscience at death.
Marcus’s adoptive father and predecessor as emperor, Antoninus Pius, is his model for living a philosophical life. Antoninus lived a balanced, intentional, and active life that Marcus seeks to emulate in order to both live and die well himself.
Themes
33. It’s normal to feel pain in our bodies when we use them as they’re meant to be used. Similarly, stress is normal in a typical human life.
Stress is to be expected in life; what matters is how a person reacts to stress.
Themes
36a. Everything derives from the “universal mind” (the logos)—everything from a lion’s jaws to thorns to mud. All of these things come from “the good and beautiful.” Instead of seeing such things as alien, think of the source from which they spring.
Because everything comes from the divine, we can have a positive regard even for seemingly harmful or useless things. We all share the same source.
Themes
41. Most of our misbehavior comes from mislabeling things as “good” or “bad” and blaming God or our enemies for the bad.
Our interpretation of life’s events impacts our behavior in response to them—thinking they’re good or bad instead of accepting them.
Themes
42. All human beings are part of the same “project.” Some are conscientiously working on it, while others don’t; some of the latter are whiny and obstructive. Those people are needed, too, and the gods will use a person one way or another. Still, it’s up to each person to decide which role they’ll occupy.
No matter what, everyone is used by the gods in the “project” of existence. The difference is what kind of role a person will play—suggesting that a person can choose to either resist or cooperate with the gods’ design.
Themes
44. Whatever the gods decide is good. And even if they don’t decide things about individual lives, they do care about the world’s welfare—and anything that flows from the overall welfare is good for the individual. And even if the gods determine nothing (a belief Marcus derides as “blasphemous”), each person can certainly make decisions about what benefits himself and his city.
The gods’ design is good. Though Marcus believes the gods are concerned about each person, he says this belief isn’t necessary; because the universe is harmonious, what’s good for the world must necessarily be good for the individual. By “city,” Marcus refers both to Rome and the world at large.
Themes
48. When discouraged, think about your friends’ good qualities—it’s good to see others’ virtues (like energy, modesty, and generosity) on display.
Here, Marcus discusses some aspects of human relationships. People’s good qualities can encourage their peers.
Themes
50. Try to convince others, but if needed, act independently. If people resist you, use this opportunity to practice other virtues.
If people resist common action, then this shouldn’t be regarded as an obstacle but as a chance to find a different way forward.
Themes
52. You don’t have to turn something into an issue. External things can’t shape our decisions unless we choose to let them.
People’s circumstances only have a significant impact on them if they choose to let them. People can instead choose to let things go.
Themes
53. Really listen to people and try to get inside their thinking.
Understanding other people takes a concerted effort, but understanding what motivates them—hence why they act the way they do—is a key to accepting them.
Themes
58. Nobody can stop you from living according to nature.
Ultimately, it’s up to an individual to live as harmoniously as possible with others. Yet it’s also each individual’s responsibility to practice virtue—nobody else can do that for them.
Themes
