The same words of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus in every English translation on the site, side by side.
Do the things external which fall upon thee distract thee? Give thyself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around. But then thou must also avoid being carried about the other way; for those too are triflers who have wearied themselves in life by their activity, and yet have no object to which to direct every movement, and, in a word, all their thoughts.
Do those things draw thee at all away, which befall thee from without? Make then leisure for thyself for the learning of some good thing more, and cease being carried aside hither and thither. But therewith must thou take heed of the other error. For they too are triflers, who by their activities have worn themselves out in life without even having an aim whereto they can direct every impulse, aye and even every thought.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Long1862 | 45,588 | 29.3 | 25.1 | Victorian English, with “thou” and “thy” throughout. Square brackets mark words Long added to complete the sense. The translation this site uses by default. |
| C. R. Haines1916 | 43,599 | 24.4 (shortest) | 23.8 | The Loeb Classical Library edition, printed facing the Greek. Still uses “thou”, but in shorter sentences, and often more vivid. |
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.
