Death hangs over thee: whilst yet thou livest, whilst thou mayest, be good.
• Variant: Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
IV, 14 (trans. Meric Casaubon)
 • τὸ χρεὼν ἐπήρτηται· ἕως ζῇς, ἕως ἔξεστιν, ἀγαθὸς γενοῦ.
 • IV, 17 (trans. George Long)
“

Death hangs over thee: whilst yet thou livest, whilst thou mayest, be good.
• Variant: Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good.

— Marcus Aurelius

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Death hangs over thee: whilst yet thou livest, whilst thou mayest, be good.
• Variant: Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good." in the context of "IV, 14 (trans. Meric Casaubon)
 • τὸ χρεὼν ἐπήρτηται· ἕως ζῇς, ἕως ἔξεστιν, ἀγαθὸς γενοῦ.
 • IV, 17 (trans. George Long)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Marcus Aurelius" (Quotes, Meditations (c. AD 121–180): (full text)There are many different translations of these, often with different nuances of interpretation and sometimes different arrangements., Book IV) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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Marcus Aurelius

About Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good Emperors (a term coined some 13 centuries later by Niccolò Machiavelli), and the last emperor of the Pax Romana (27 BC to 180), an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161.