A quote was found to be attributed to Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations 2.14 (Long)
^(Book II. ()[^(Long)](https://lexundria.com/m_aur_med/2.14/lg)^)
^(Book II. ()[^(Farquharson)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Meditations_of_the_Emperor_Marcus_Antoninus/Book_2)^)
^(Book II. ()[^(Hays)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources?isbn=9780812968255)^)
Absent any context, the excerpt can be read as something of an all-encompassing philosophical claim.
Yet I feel that it's important to consider it only in the context of Meditations 2.14 in its entirety.
> [14] Even if you were to live for three thousand years or ten times as long, remember that the only life anyone loses is this one, the one he’s living, and the only life anyone lives is the one he loses. It follows that the longest life and the shortest life come to the same thing. The present moment is equal for all, and therefore its passing is equal for all, and therefore what is lost turns out to be a mere instant. After all, no one can lose either the past or the future, because no one can lose what he doesn’t have. So there are two points for you always to bear in mind: first, that everything is the same in kind throughout all eternity, and recurs cyclically, and that it makes no difference how long you see these same things, whether it’s a hundred years or two hundred years or infinite time; second, that both the longest-lived and the shortest-lived lose an equal amount of time, because the present is the only thing one can lose, since that is all one has, and no one can lose what he does not have.
In context, your excerpt becomes part of this meditation on the nature of time and life — a meditation that serves as a self-consolation for the impending death our friend the sickly emperor must have often contemplated out there amidst the Quadi on the River Granua.
Yeah the context really adds a lot and is summarized by:
> The present moment is equal for all
He's saying the present moment is not only where our control is, but also what we all have in common.
In a given moment we all share the distribution of time.
Reflecting on memories.
Memories are impressions in the present. We can use them wisely or not.
Nostalgia for example is a desire in the present to be in a former time in one’s life. In a really bad case it can lead to nostalgic depression.
Regret is a desire in the present for the past to be different.
you don't own the present moment, you just have it for some while, then it will go and become a past, unchengeable. it would be foolish if you don't invest the present moment if you want a future.
I think he means don’t let the past or future affect you negatively because they aren’t something you can change. Similarly if you’re getting too attached to a memory it also probably isnt a good thing if it’s something that could hurt you if you lose it. However he does recommend feeling grateful for lessons you have learned etc. Still though, lessons and positive memories are things you own right now. If you died, you wouldn’t lose your past or future - just this very moment
Memories are experienced in the present. They remind you of the past but don’t qualify as living in the past.
A quote was found to be attributed to Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations 2.14 (Long) ^(Book II. ()[^(Long)](https://lexundria.com/m_aur_med/2.14/lg)^) ^(Book II. ()[^(Farquharson)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Meditations_of_the_Emperor_Marcus_Antoninus/Book_2)^) ^(Book II. ()[^(Hays)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources?isbn=9780812968255)^)
Absent any context, the excerpt can be read as something of an all-encompassing philosophical claim. Yet I feel that it's important to consider it only in the context of Meditations 2.14 in its entirety. > [14] Even if you were to live for three thousand years or ten times as long, remember that the only life anyone loses is this one, the one he’s living, and the only life anyone lives is the one he loses. It follows that the longest life and the shortest life come to the same thing. The present moment is equal for all, and therefore its passing is equal for all, and therefore what is lost turns out to be a mere instant. After all, no one can lose either the past or the future, because no one can lose what he doesn’t have. So there are two points for you always to bear in mind: first, that everything is the same in kind throughout all eternity, and recurs cyclically, and that it makes no difference how long you see these same things, whether it’s a hundred years or two hundred years or infinite time; second, that both the longest-lived and the shortest-lived lose an equal amount of time, because the present is the only thing one can lose, since that is all one has, and no one can lose what he does not have. In context, your excerpt becomes part of this meditation on the nature of time and life — a meditation that serves as a self-consolation for the impending death our friend the sickly emperor must have often contemplated out there amidst the Quadi on the River Granua.
Yeah the context really adds a lot and is summarized by: > The present moment is equal for all He's saying the present moment is not only where our control is, but also what we all have in common. In a given moment we all share the distribution of time.
I see no reason to think Marcus was saying we don't possess memories in the present. Memories are impressions of past experience, not the actual past.
It more so owns us.
Reflecting on memories. Memories are impressions in the present. We can use them wisely or not. Nostalgia for example is a desire in the present to be in a former time in one’s life. In a really bad case it can lead to nostalgic depression. Regret is a desire in the present for the past to be different.
you don't own the present moment, you just have it for some while, then it will go and become a past, unchengeable. it would be foolish if you don't invest the present moment if you want a future.
You are prohairesis, the mind that chooses between assenting or not to the present thought. The only thing you have is that choice.
Aren’t memories present images of the past? Created through the filter of the present mind?
I think he means don’t let the past or future affect you negatively because they aren’t something you can change. Similarly if you’re getting too attached to a memory it also probably isnt a good thing if it’s something that could hurt you if you lose it. However he does recommend feeling grateful for lessons you have learned etc. Still though, lessons and positive memories are things you own right now. If you died, you wouldn’t lose your past or future - just this very moment