Tag: John Jackson

Marcus Aurelius? Irvin D. Yalom? George Long? John Jackson? Martin Hammond? Ivar Lissner? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The book “Creatures of a Day: And Other Tales of Psychotherapy” by U.S. psychiatrist Irvin D. Yalom begins with the following passage attributed to Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius in “The Meditations”:^[1] 2015, Creatures of a Day: And Other Tales of Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom, Epigram at beginning of book, Quote Page viii, Basic Books, New York. (Verified with scans)

All of us are creatures of a day; the rememberer and the remembered alike. All is ephemeral—both memory and the object of memory. The time is at hand when you will have forgotten everything; and the time is at hand when all will have forgotten you. Always reflect that soon you will be no one, and nowhere.

This excerpt is confusing because I have been unable to find the full text; instead, I have found only fragments. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI believes that this passage was assembled from statements in three different locations within “The Meditations” of Marcus Aurelius: Book 4—35, Book 7—21, and Book 12—21. Below are citations showing multiple translations.

Continue reading All of Us Are Creatures of a Day; the Rememberer and the Remembered Alike