“ The best and the bravest men have moments of doubt and of weakness; but if they are the best and the bravest, they rise again from their depression by recurring to first principles, as Antoninus does. The emperor says that life is smoke, a vapor, and St. ”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (c. 170 - 180). copy citation
| Author | Marcus Aurelius |
|---|---|
| Source | Meditations |
| Topic | weakness depression |
| Date | c. 170 - 180 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by George Long |
| Weblink | https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15877/15877-h/15877-h.htm |
Context
“In the midst of war, pestilence, conspiracy, general corruption, and with the weight of so unwieldy an empire upon him, we may easily comprehend that Antoninus often had need of all his fortitude to support him. The best and the bravest men have moments of doubt and of weakness; but if they are the best and the bravest, they rise again from their depression by recurring to first principles, as Antoninus does. The emperor says that life is smoke, a vapor, and St. James in his Epistle is of the same mind; that the world is full of envious, jealous, malignant people, and a man might be well content to get out of it. He has doubts perhaps sometimes even about that to which he holds most firmly.”
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