The same words of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus in every English translation on the site, side by side.
The following statements constitute a non sequitur: "I am richer than you are, therefore I am superior to you"; or, "I am more eloquent than you are, therefore I am superior to you." But the following conclusions are better: "I am richer than you are, therefore my property is superior to yours"; or, "I am more eloquent than you are, therefore my elocution is superior to yours." But you are neither property nor elocution.
These reasonings do not cohere: I am richer than you, therefore I am better than you; I am more eloquent than you, therefore I am better than you. On the contrary these rather cohere, I am richer than you, therefore my possessions are greater than yours: I am more eloquent than you, therefore my speech is superior to yours. But you are neither possession nor speech.
It is illogical to reason thus, 'I am richer than you, therefore I am superior to you', 'I am more eloquent than you, therefore I am superior to you.' It is more logical to reason, 'I am richer than you, therefore my property is superior to yours', 'I am more eloquent than you, therefore my speech is superior to yours.' You are something more than property or speech.
Every translation here is complete and free to read in full on this site. They differ in age and in voice. The measurements below are taken from the whole of each translation.
| Translation | Words | Words per sentence | “Thou” and “thy” per 1,000 words | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W. A. Oldfather1928 | 8,272 | 26.2 | 0.1 | The Loeb Classical Library edition, printed facing the Greek. Smooth, modern prose, and the translation this site uses by default. |
| George Long1877 | 8,144 | 26.4 | 0.2 | The most literal of the three. Long often prints the Greek term or an alternative rendering in brackets, which makes it slow going but useful for checking the others. |
| P. E. Matheson1916 | 7,361 | 25.1 (shortest) | 0 | Published by the Clarendon Press, Oxford. The plainest and most concise of the three, and the easiest to read aloud. |
Shorter sentences and fewer old forms usually make for an easier read; the older, more literal versions are better for checking what the original says. A good way to use them is to read in one and, when a sentence stops you, look at it here in the others.
