George Long
1862 · defaultDo not have such an opinion of things as he has who does thee wrong, or such as he wishes thee to have, but look at them as they are in truth.
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The same words of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus in every English translation on the site, side by side.
Meditations 4.11
Marcus Aurelius · Open this passageC. R. Haines
1916Harbour no such opinions as he holds who does thee violence, or as he would have thee hold. See things in all their naked reality.
Which translation of the Meditations?
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.