The same words of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus in every English translation on the site, side by side.
Adorn thyself with simplicity and modesty, and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that law rules all— And it is enough to remember that law rules all.
Make thy face to shine with simplicity and modesty and disregard of all that lies between virtue and vice. Love human-kind. Follow God. Says the Sage: All things by Law, but in very truth only elements. And it suffices to remember that all things are by law: there thou hast it briefly enough.
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.
