Anxious about what’s next
Did Marcus Aurelius really say “You have power over your mind”?
For when it’s the outside events that have you on edge.
If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs thee, but thy own judgment about it. And it is in thy power to wipe out this judgment now.
The version you’ve probably seen
“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
Not a translation of any line in the book. These exact words appear in none of the three public-domain English translations we searched (Casaubon 1634, Foulis 1742, Long 1862). The passage above is the nearest real one. Modern translations are still under copyright, so we haven’t checked them.
In plain words
Marcus wrote this in private notes to himself. His claim is narrow: when something outside you hurts, the hurt comes through your judgment about it, and that judgment is something you can wipe out. He doesn’t say the outside thing is unreal or unimportant. He says where the pain passes through.
Sit with this line → A few quiet exchanges about what it stirs in you.
Worth knowing
Numbering differs by translation; Casaubon’s nearest lines are Book VI, §47 (“it is in thy power absolutely to exclude all manner of conceit and opinion”) and Book XII, §16 (“all is but opinion”). This is one emperor’s view of pain, not a treatment for anxiety.
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