Aurelius, Meditations §aur_05_xxii: Be not angry neither with him whose breath, neither with him whose arm holes,...
Source: Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (c. AD 170) (aur_05_xxii) · external_aligned
Be not angry neither with him whose breath, neither with him whose arm holes, are offensive. What can he do? such is his breath naturally, and such are his arm holes; and from such, such an effect, and such a smell must of necessity proceed. 'O, but the man (sayest thou) hath understanding in him, and might of himself know, that he by standing near, cannot choose but offend.' And thou also (God bless thee!) hast understanding. Let thy reasonable faculty, work upon his reasonable faculty; show him his fault, admonish him. If he hearken unto thee, thou hast cured him, and there will be no more occasion of anger.
Witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15)
- manuscript_tradition: Vaticanus Graecus 1950 — earliest complete Greek MS
- critical_edition: Dalfen, Marci Aurelii Antonini Ad Se Ipsum Libri XII (Teubner 1987)
- translation: George Long translation (1862) — public domain English
- translation: Hays translation (Modern Library, 2002)
- republication: Internet Archive — Meditations Long translation