Marcus Aurelius on revenge: “not to become like unto them”

In plain words

Marcus wrote this in private notes to himself, as a reminder, not a lecture. His point: if you answer harm with the same harm, you’ve picked up their habits. Not becoming like them is the only kind of revenge he counts.

Sit with this line → A few quiet exchanges about what it stirs in you.

Worth knowing

The wording differs a lot between translations. This is Casaubon’s from 1634, which is why it sounds old-fashioned. Even the section number changes depending on the edition.