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What did the philosopher Marcus Aurelius mean when he wrote: "Receive without pride, let go without regrets"

April 5, 2026 by usatoday24

There have been many philosophers throughout history. What is no longer so common is to meet someone who also served as one of the most powerful figures of his time. This double dimension occurred almost 2,000 years ago in what is probably one of the classic thinkers. most popular and cited today: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD). If his status as a learned emperor were not enough to make him stand out, Marcus is also one of the great names of Stoicism, a school that enjoys a renewed youth. Among his many reflections collected in ‘Meditations’ There is one that stands out, both for its expressive force and for capturing a large part of Stoic ethics: “Receive without pride the goods of fortune, lose them without regrets.” Rereading the emperor. If Marcus Aurelius is a peculiar philosopher, his ‘Meditations’ are no less so. As the philologist Carlos García Gual recalls in the edition Published in the 70s by Gredos, the work is basically composed of “personal notes”, notes that the philosopher king was preparing during the last years of his life. Throughout the 12 volumes into which the work is fragmented there are profuse reflections. And there are brief ones, like the one we are dealing with here. Beyond their form, they all have something in common: they are a reflection of Marcus Aurelius himself “stripped of rhetorical artifices, concise and austere.” “We moderns would have liked to know what this or that paragraph of disgust or admiration refers to, and at what time of the night or in front of what cold Danubian landscape this or that meditation had been written. But, in his contempt for the mundane and the corporeal, Marcus Aurelius only notes the essential: the naked reasoning of the accessory and the moral incitement,” continue García Gual in his essay. A best-seller of almost 20 centuries. ‘Meditations’ probably has another merit. Few philosophical works are so cited today, both in media as in social networks and anthologies. It makes quite a bit of sense. First because of the popularity of Marcus Aurelius. Second for its format, brief, expository. And third because stoicism lives in a true rebirthrefloated by a wave that dates back to the last decades of the last century and has been growing hand in hand with a wide spectrum of voices that includes everything from gurus and cryptobros to solvent authors. What is the reason for this interest? Largely due to its practical dimension and its appeal to contemporary eyes. What Marcus Aurelius offers us, Seneca (tutor of another emperor, by the way) or any other of the many followers of the old school of Zeno of Citium It is a life guide to enjoy a good life, the eudaimonia. In other words, a formula to transform passions and appetites into a placid current of inner calm. Book VIII. 33. We said it before. The ‘Meditations’ They are full of deep reflections, but there is one in particular that is especially suggestive. We find it in point 33 of Book VIII and in it the philosopher king exhorts us to the following: “Receive without pride the goods of fortune, lose them without regrets.” Other versions translate it somewhat differently: “Receive without pride, let go without attachment” Why does that phrase stand out precisely, beyond its form and tone? Because it condenses many of the elements of Stoic ethics. In six words the author invites us to practice detachment, serenity and assume that there are circumstances that are beyond our control, but we can always decide how to face them. What does it mean exactly? To analyze the phrase you have to divide it into two parts. In the first (“Receive without pride the goods of fortune”) the philosopher encourages us to flee from pride and seek calm, a state of mental balance (ataraxia) away from passions and desires that clears the path to happiness. “Let serenity dwell within you, the absence of the need for external help and the tranquility that others seek. It is advisable to stay straight, not upright,” advises the philosopher in another passage of ‘Meditations’. His invitation connects with another fundamental concept of Stoicism, the apathythe liberation of passions that allows us to achieve that state of calm and inner peace. In Xataka Humanity has started 2026 wondering whether or not nihilistic penguins exist. And it makes perfect sense And the second half? The second part of the reflection (“Lose (the goods of fortune) without regrets”) links to another equally crucial idea: detachment and the dichotomy between what we can control and what escapes our reach. One of the pillars of Stoic thought, which goes back to its most basic roots, consists in fact of clearly distinguishing between both realities. “Of what exists, some things depend on us, others do not depend on us,” clarifies the philosopher Epictetus in his work ‘Enchyridion’. “If you consider what is slave by nature free and what is foreign your own, you will suffer impediments, you will suffer, you will be disturbed, you will make reproaches to the gods and to men.” With small print. What Marcus Aurelius invites us to do is to practice detachment, accept change and assume that not everything depends on us. As explains philosopher Jonny Thomson, this vital approach (which is by no means exclusive to Stoicism) is powerful, but it must also be handled with some caution. The reason? Avoid distortions that would adulterate your message. In an article published in Big Think Thompson asks himself a question: Is it always right to practice detachment and control pride? Let’s imagine that we suffer a very painful loss (a family member dies), isn’t it normal that we find it difficult to accept it? What’s more, wouldn’t it be harmful in some way to act as if nothing had happened? The answer lies in the nuances and in not missing the focus. {“videoId”:”x80pv1e”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”INSERT COIN with ANTONIO DIEGUEZ Philosophy and TRANSHUMANISM”, “tag”:”Philosophy”, “duration”:”1973″} “Spiritual escape”. Thomson remember that the … Read more

The problem with Marcus Aurelius’ most famous phrase is that it is surely not his

February 13, 2026 by usatoday24

Initially this article was going to be about what the emperor Marcus Aurelius said, not about what Marcus Aurelius never said and we have made him say. Let me explain. With half a polarized country and thousands of families still recovering from the fights political-ideological-religious that accompany Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve after-dinner meals, a few days ago I decided to consult good old Marco Aurelio Antonio. What can the philosopher emperor teach us about tension? The answer came to me like a fall from the sky (via Google): “Everything we hear is opinion, not fact. Everything we see is perspective, not truth.” Sage. Accurate. Poetic. A plea in favor of tolerance, respect and the ability to relativize without falling into relativism resigned. One of the many (many) aphorisms of Marcus Aurelius that invite us to listen, not give in to impulses and, definitely, flee from gratuitous quarrels. The problem is that it is quite likely that that phrase, replicated infinite times in networks, anthologies and newspapershas never left Marco’s lips (or pen). Yes, it has been attributed to specialized accounts of X with more than 600,000 followers, yes, we have seen it in top level newspapers; but there are serious doubts that the philosopher emperor uttered it. Even that he sympathized with her. Emperor’s word (or not) To clear up doubts, the first and simplest thing is to turn to the great philosophical legacy of Marcus Aurelius: ‘Meditations’the work that collects his philosophical reflections. There, in point 15 of the second book, we find a more or less similar statement, although much shorter and related to another author. In fact, Marcus Aurelius recognizes its value, but with some important nuance. “‘That everything is opinion’”. Evident is what is said referring to the cynic Mónimo. The usefulness of what is said is also evident, if the substance of the saying is accepted, to the extent that it is appropriate.” The phrase refers to the philosopher Mononym of Syracuse (4th century BC), member of the Cynic school, and also connects with another great name of antiquity, the Greek comediographer Meander. Now… Why does Marcus Aurelius share it? Throughout the work the philosopher returns on several occasions about that idea, although with a form (and especially a background) that does not quite coincide with that phrase we found on Google. In book His interpretation is rather another: If you are distressed or sad, it may not be so much because of the external factors but because of the way you face them. No trace of the famous original phrase. Click on the image to go to the tweet. What we did find (again on Google) are contemporary authors who warn of two things: not only is there no evidence that Marcus Aurelius ever uttered that aphorism, but that he probably would not support it. In Medium the thinker Gregory Sadler remember the mention of Monimos in the ‘Meditations’ (“everything is what you suppose it to be”), but insists on the importance of context: “Marcus Aurelius is not really endorsing that statement as unconditionally correct. He claims that those words are clear and that they are useful if one accepts their usefulness to the extent that they are true“. “As you read these passages, and even more so as you read and understand the Meditations Taken together, it is quite clear that Marcus Aurelius not only does not endorse any kind of relativism. It would be strange if he did, since that would contradict many other things he claims,” insists Sadler. He is not the only one who thinks this way. On the Modern Stoicism website is pointed out He cites it as the most obvious (and famous) example of a phrase “erroneously attributed” to the Roman emperor. It is not just about putting words into the philosopher’s mouth that he never really said. The problem, remember its authorThomas Colligan, is that in this case the aphorism lends itself to interpretations that directly collide with what Marcus Aurelius did think. “It seems to deny the existence of an objective reality and instead endorses a subjective view of the world where anything goes,” he warns: “Marcus Aurelius and the Stoics would certainly not have endorsed this view.” The emperor’s alleged phrase has also not passed PolitiFact analysis (a project of the Poynter Institute), that considers her discredited. After seeing how it went viral on networks, PolitiFact investigated whether or not the happy quote can be attributed to Marcus Aurelius, for which it even contacted an expert from the University of Tasmania, Dirk Baltzly. Your conclusion? It turns out “vaguely possible” that the quote is a free paraphrase of a passage from ‘Meditations’. What does the passage in question that Baltzly points out say, a quote that we find at the end of a long reflection of the third section from book IV? As follows: “All those things that you are seeing will soon be transformed and will not exist. Also constantly think about how many transformations you have already witnessed by chance. ‘The world, alteration; life, opinion.’” In other words, there is a certain echo, but no trace of what is probably one of Marcus Aurelius’s most shared phrases on networks. It could remain an anecdote (and a frustrated article on polarization), but how they reveal Sadler or Colligan, the problem is that this is not the only phrase falsely attributed to Marcus Aurelius, nor is Marcus Aurelius the only thinker to whom false phrases are attributed. Not even the emperors and greatest thinkers in history are safe from fake news. On the contrary, they seem more vulnerable the greater their fame. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | “The greatest obstacle in life is the loss of today”: Seneca already went through your same existential crisis 2,000 years ago

Marcus Licinius Crassus was the richest man in the Roman Empire thanks to an old business: real estate speculation

November 1, 2025 by usatoday24

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Ellison are the richest people in the world. Your personal assets It exceeds the annual GDP of many countries, which gives an idea of the size of their wealth. However, that proportion of wealth is not exclusive to modern fortunes. Marcus Licinius Crassus was one of the richest men of the Roman Empire and his fortune was estimated to be equivalent to the entire annual budget of the Roman treasury. The most curious thing about the history of this Roman millionaire is that the way in which he amassed his fortune would not be out of place in Spain in the 20th or 21st century. Millionaire on father’s side The historian Plutarch was responsible for recording the life and work of Crassus in different chapters of ‘Parallel lives‘. Thanks to this work we know that Crassus amassed one of the most formidable fortunes in Ancient Rome. Marcus Licinius Crassus was born around the year 115 BC in Rome, into the Licinia gens, a family of plebeians with roots in the early days of the Roman Republic, so, although they did not enjoy a great fortune, let’s say that their economic situation was comfortable. His family had already held important consulates during the Republic, so they had a certain presence in Roman political life. His father, Publius Licinius Crassuswas consul in 97 BC, but during the civil war between the supporters of Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla (which took place between 88 and 82 BC), his father and brother were killed in those clashes, and the family lost their property. Bust of Marcus Licinius Crassus After the death of his family, Crassus inherited a small fortune, but had to flee to Hispania, where he hid for months. Later, he joined the side of the general and dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a Roman general and dictator who defeated his rival Gaius Marius and ruled Rome from around 82 BC. Sulla supervised the entry of Marcus Crassus into the Senate and thus opened a way for Crassus to start building your wealth from a position of power and began to be known as Dives“the rich one.” According to his biographer Plutarch, Crassus began his political career with a fortune of 300 talents. According to the inventory of his fortune on the eve of his last campaign, his fortune reached 7,100 talents. Real estate speculation is not a modern invention The basis of Crassus’s extraordinary wealth was the massive purchase of property confiscated from political enemies during Sulla’s rule. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla took control of Rome, those who opposed him lost their properties, and these were sold at very low prices. Crassus bought almost all of them for prices well below the market price. In Rome it was common for the insulaebuildings built of wood and cement crowded together on several floors, they would burn to make fire inside, and it would jump from building to building burning entire neighborhoods. Remains of a Roman insulae As his fortune grew, Marcus Crassus bought more and more slaves that he would use to make his fortune grow even more, forming a small army of more than 500 highly qualified slaves such as architects, bricklayers, carpenters, etc. The Roman millionaire, aware that the fires of the insulae They used to extend to several buildings, he created a brigade of slaves who acted as firefighters and, it was rumored, also arsonists. As and how did he count The CountryCrassus arrived at the fires and offered the owners of the burning buildings and their neighbors ridiculous amounts of money for the property. Faced with the imminence of being left with nothing left over from the flames or having it collapse, they could at least recover part of their investment, so many accepted the sale. Only at that moment, his army of slaves went into action and put out the fire. Afterwards, the rest of the slave architects and builders restored the building, and then resold it, making an enormous profit from its sale because, after all, slave labor was free. As and how do they count In National Geographic, his slaves were even more valuable than the silver mines and land he also owned. According to Plutarch’s story, this strategy helped the skillful negotiator Crassus to gain a good part of the insulae from Rome. Plutarch said that Crassus always built for speculation, never for his own enjoyment. Crassus’ excessive ambition led him to negotiate with Julius Caesar and Pompey the creation of the First Triumvirate, although in reality Crassus’ aspirations were more about obtaining the granting of public contracts and perks for his businesses than the good government of Rome. In fact, hated Pompey. His downfall: exchanging ambition for envy However, as his fortune and political position increased, Crassus yearned for more than wealth. He sought military glory. In 72 BC he received command to end the slave rebellion led by Spartacuswhich had the support of an army made up of between 70,000 and 120,000 slaves who rose up. Marcus Crassus managed to defeat a large part of the rebels and crucified 6,000 slaves along 200 km of the Appian Way as punishment and warning to the rest of the rebels. However, many of them managed to escape, and it was his hated political partner Pompey who managed to hunt them down, putting an end to all the work that Crassus had done. By giving the final blow to the revolt, Pompey took all the credit for the victory, being received in Rome with all the honors of the laurel crown, while Crassus had to settle for a discreet owatta minor recognition. Orodes II, king of the Parthians Crassus did not give up in his attempt to demonstrate his superiority against Pompey and tried to expand his conquests and fortune by facing Pompey. to births in Syriabut his defeat in the Battle of Carras (53 BC) was catastrophic on a strategic level. There he died along with … Read more

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