Quotation
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“People seek retreats for themselves, in the country, by the sea, in the hills. But this is altogether unphilosophical, when you can at any moment retreat into yourself.”
Marcus Aurelius · Stoicism · Ancient · c. 170–180 CE
Part of:Stoicism in 5 steps →
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is that a change of scenery will not quiet you if you bring a disordered mind, and that a retreat into yourself is available at any moment. A competing reading stops before his caveat: the inner room helps only if the soul you enter is ordered, otherwise it is just as noisy as the seaside. The passage is Meditations 4.3. The same chapter contains the line that the universe is change and life is opinion.
Did Marcus Aurelius really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Close to the sense of 4.3 in standard translations. He goes on to say the retreat must be to a soul that is ordered; otherwise the inner room is just as noisy.
Where it comes from
Meditations 4.3
Approximate date: c. 170–180 CE.
How to use it
Before booking a weekend away to escape a row at home, try ten quiet minutes with the actual irritation named. If the inner retreat is a mess, the cottage will be a mess with a view, because scenery is not the principle he says to return to. The train ticket can still be a good idea later, for a different reason.
A mindset reading
Solitude is useful only if there is a principle you are returning to. Empty quiet can just be brooding with the door shut. The habit is to ask what you are retreating into, not only what you are leaving.
Understand the philosophy
Marcus is adapting the Stoic theme that the wise carry their good with them. A retreat, anachōrēsis, is a withdrawal, and he relocates it from hills and sea to the governing faculty, the hēgemonikon. He is answering his own wish to get away from court and camp. The inner room is an ethical place, not a mood.
- mind
- self
- happiness
FAQ
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is that a change of scenery will not quiet you if you bring a disordered mind, and that a retreat into yourself is available at any moment. A competing reading stops before his caveat: the inner room helps only if the soul you enter is ordered, otherwise it is just as noisy as the seaside. The passage is Meditations 4.3. The same chapter contains the line that the universe is change and life is opinion.
Did Marcus Aurelius really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Close to the sense of 4.3 in standard translations. He goes on to say the retreat must be to a soul that is ordered; otherwise the inner room is just as noisy.
Which work is it in?
Meditations 4.3 Approximate date: c. 170–180 CE.