Meditations 12.18

In everything always observe what the thing is which produces for thee an appearance, and resolve it by dividing it into the formal, the material, the purpose, and the time within which it must end.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.18, translated by George Long

Ever look to the whole of a thing, what exactly that is which produces the impression on thee, and unfold it, analyzing it into its causes, its matter, its objective, and into its life-span within which it must needs cease to be.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.18, translated by C. R. Haines