Say to yourself first thing in the morning: I shall meet with people who are meddling, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, and unsociable. They are subject to these faults because of their ignorance of what is good and bad.
[ἕωθεν προλέγειν ἑαυτῷ· συντεύξομαι περιέργῳ, ἀχαρίστῳ, ὑβριστῇ, δολερῷ, βασκάνῳ, ἀκοινωνήτῳ· πάντα ταῦτα συμβέβηκεν ἐκείνοις παρὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν.]
Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 2, ch. 1 (2.1) [tr. Gill (2013)]
(Source)
(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:Betimes in the morning say to thyself, This day I shalt have to do with an idle curious man, with an unthankful man, a railer, a crafty, false, or an envious man; an unsociable uncharitable man. All these ill qualities have happened unto them, through ignorance of that which is truly good and truly bad.
[tr. Casaubon (1634), 1.15]Remember to put yourself in mind every Morning, That before Night 'twill be your Luck to meet with some Inquisitive Impertinent, with some ungrateful, and abusive Fellow; with some Knavish, Envious, or unsociable Churl or other. Now all this perverseness in them proceeds from their Ignorance of Good and Evil
[tr. Collier (1701)]Say thus to thyself every morning: to day I may have to do with some intermeddler in other mens affairs, with an ungrateful man; an insolent, or a crafty, or an envious, or an unsociable selfish man. These bad qualities have befallen them through their ignorance of what things are truly good or evil.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]Consider with yourself, before you go out in the morning, that in the course of the day you will probably meet with some impertinent, disagreeable, or abusive fellow, with some deceitful, envious, or selfish wretch: now all this perverseness in them proceeds from their ignorance of what is really good or evil.
[tr. Graves (1792)]Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil.
[tr. Long (1862)]Remember to put yourself in mind every morning, that before night it will be your luck to meet with some busy-body, with some ungrateful, abusive fellow, with some knavish, envious, or unsociable churl or other. Now all this perverseness in them proceeds from their ignorance of good and evil.
[tr. Collier/Zimmern (1887)]When you wake, say to yourself -- To-day I shall encounter meddling, ingratitude, violence, cunning, malice, self-seeking; all of them the results of men not know what is good and what is evil."
[tr. Rendall (1898)]Say this to yourself in the morning: Today I shall have to do with meddlers, with the ungrateful, with the insolent, with the crafty, with the envious and the selfish. All these vices have beset them, because they know not what is good and what is evil.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]Say to thyself at daybreak: I shall come across the busy-body, the thankless, the bully, the treacherous, the envious, the unneighbourly. All this has befallen them because they know not good from evil.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]Say to yourself in the early morning: I shall meet to-day inquisitive, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, uncharitable men. All these things have come upon them through ignorance of real good and ill.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill will, and selfishness -- all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil.
[tr. Staniforth (1964)]Say to yourself at break of day, I shall meet with meddling, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, and ungrateful men. All these vices have fallen to them because they have no knowledge of good and bad.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil.
[tr. Hays (2003)]Say to yourself first thing in the morning: today I shall meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, aggressive, treacherous, malicious, unsocial. All this has afflicted them through their ignorance of true good and evil.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]Begin each day by saying to yourself: Today I am going to encounter people who are ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, and hostile. People have these characteristics because they do not understand what is good and what is bad.
[tr. Needleman/Piazza (2008)]Say to yourself at the start of the day, I shall meet with meddling, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, and unsociable people. They are subject to all these defects because they have no knowledge of good and bad.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]First thing in the morning say to yourself: "I’m going to meet a busybody, an ingrate, a bighead, a fraudster, a slanderer, and an anti-social person; they’ve become all these things because of their ignorance of good and evil."
[tr. @aleatorclassicus (2013)]Begin the morning by saying to yourself: Today I will meet people who are busy-bodies, ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, and unkind. This will happen because these people are ignorant of what is good and bad.
[tr. McNeill (2019)]