George Long
1862 · defaultNature which governs the whole will soon change all things thou seest, and out of their substance will make other things, and again other things from the substance of them, in order that the world may be ever new.
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The same words of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus in every English translation on the site, side by side.
Meditations 7.25
Marcus Aurelius · Open this passageC. R. Haines
1916Everything that thou seest will the Nature that controls the Universe change, no one knows how soon, and out of its substance make other compounds, and again others out of theirs, that the world may ever renew its youth.
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.