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“Moreover I learned of him to write letters without any affectation, or curiosity; such as that was, which by him was written to my mother from Sinuessa: and to be easy and ready to be reconciled, and well pleased again with them that had offended me, as soon as any of them would be content to seek unto me again.”

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— Marcus Aurelius

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Live wording check · 2026-10-26

MEDITATIONS By Marcus Aurelius ticus I am beholding, that I first entered into the conceit that my life wanted some redress and cure. And then, that I did not fall into the ambition of ordinary sophists, either to write tracts concerning the common theorems, or to exhort men unto virtue and the study of philosophy by public orations; as also that I never by way of ostentation did affect to show myself an active able man, for any kind of bodily exercises. And that I gave over the study of rhetoric and poetry, and of elegant neat language. That I did not use to walk about the house in my long robe, nor to do any such things. Moreover I learned of him to write letters without any affectation, or curiosity; such as that was, which by him was written to my mother from Sinuessa: and to be easy and ready to be reconciled, and well pleased again with them that had offended me, as soon as any of them would be content to seek unto me again. To read with diligence; not to rest satisfied with a light and superficial knowledge, nor quickly to assent to things commonly spoken of: whom also I must thank that ever I lighted upon Epictetus his _Hypomnemata_, or moral commentaries and common-factions: which also he gave me of his own. V. From Apollonius, true liberty, and unvariable steadfastness, and not to regard anything at all, though never so little, but right and reason: and always, whether in the sharpest pains, or after the loss of a child, or in long diseases, to be still the same man; who also was a present and visible example Public domain in the USA.
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Source

Title
Meditations
Type
Public-domain primary text · Primary source
Location
THE FIRST BOOK
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Context

Section IV connects Rusticus's example with straightforward correspondence and reconciliation.

What it means

Marcus values unpretentious communication and readiness to forgive.

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Bibliography entry
Aurelius, Marcus. (n.d.). Meditations. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2680/pg2680.txt
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Aurelius (n.d., THE FIRST BOOK)
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(Aurelius, n.d., THE FIRST BOOK)

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Provenance: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2680/pg2680.txt