Thou seest how few be the things, the which if a man has at his command his life flows gently on and is divine.
• II, 5
• II, 5
“
You see how few things you have to do to live a satisfying and reverent life? If you can manage this, that's all even the gods can ask of you. (Hays translation)
— Marcus Aurelius
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "You see how few things you have to do to live a satisfying and reverent life? If you can manage this, that's all even the gods can ask of you. (Hays translation)" in the context of "Thou seest how few be the things, the which if a man has at his command his life flows gently on and is divine.
• II, 5" 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 II)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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.
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.
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