Two glass jars, one filled with muddy brown water and the other with clear water and a white feather, against a pale blue background.

Original artwork, not a still

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrong-doer.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker defines the best revenge as refusing to resemble the person who did wrong. That redirects attention from what happens to the offender toward one's own conduct. One reading makes keeping a moral difference the response that matters, rather than copying the original behaviour.

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