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Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.

Popular paraphrase of Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.47

Philosophy

The story behind the card

The wording is a modern paraphrase of Meditations 7.47. George Long's 1862 translation is plainer: 'Look round at the courses of the stars, as if thou wert going along with them'. The passage goes on to urge thinking often about how the elements change into one another, because such thoughts clean away the dirt of earthly life. Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor from 161 to 180, wrote these notes to himself in Greek, often while on military campaigns; they were never meant for publication.

Türkçe oku
Hayatın güzelliğini düşün. Yıldızları seyret ve kendini onlarla birlikte koşarken gör.
Marcus Aurelius'tan serbest uyarlama, Kendime Düşünceler 7.47

Bu söyleyiş, Kendime Düşünceler'in 7. kitabındaki 47. notun günümüzde yaygınlaşmış serbest bir uyarlamasıdır. George Long'un 1862 tarihli çevirisi daha yalındır: Marcus kendine, yıldızların yolunu sanki onlarla birlikte gidiyormuş gibi izlemesini, öğelerin birbirine nasıl dönüştüğünü de sık sık düşünmesini öğütler; çünkü böyle düşünceler dünya hayatının kirini temizler. 161–180 yılları arasında Roma imparatoru olan Marcus Aurelius bu notları Yunanca, çoğu zaman seferlerdeyken kendisi için yazdı; yayımlanmaları hiç amaçlanmamıştı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Marcus Aurelius
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