“Continuously thou wilt look at human things as smoke and nothing at all”

—  Marcus Aurelius , book Meditations

X, 31
Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book X
Context: Continuously thou wilt look at human things as smoke and nothing at all; especially if thou reflectest at the same time, that what has once changed will never exist again in the infinite duration of time. But thou, in what a brief space of time is thy existence? And why art thou not content to pass through this short time in an orderly way?

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Marcus Aurelius 400
Emperor of Ancient Rome 121–180

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