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Who really said it

If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it

Written by Marcus Aurelius 121–180 AD · Roman emperor & Stoic philosopher
Verified Free to reuse

Genuinely from Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, Book 12, §17. The exact English wording you see — “If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it” — is the public-domain 1862 translation by classical scholar George Long ↗. The popular one-liner reproduces Long almost verbatim, changing only his colon to a full stop; later translators word the same passage differently.

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.17 (trans. George Long, 1862)

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In context

Evoking the world of Marcus Aurelius — Roman emperor & Stoic philosopher. Theme: "If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Provenance

The source

Work
Meditations (Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν, ‘To Himself’)
Reference
Book 12, §17
Translation
George Long, 1862 (public domain)
Original language
Written in Koine Greek, c. 170–180 AD

If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it. Meditations 12.17

The opening of Meditations 12.17 in George Long’s 1862 translation; the passage continues with an exhortation to keep one’s judgements one’s own.

Meditations, Book 12 (George Long translation)

How we traced it

  • Found genuine in Meditations Book 12, §17, in the George Long translation ↗, which reads “If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it.”
  • Wikiquote ↗ lists the line among Marcus Aurelius’s genuine quotations (Book XII, 17), not under ‘Misattributed’ or ‘Disputed.’
  • The wording is translation-specific: the 1944 Farquharson edition ↗ renders the same passage “If it is not right, don’t do it: if it is not true, don’t say it.”
Public domain

The Greek original is ancient and long out of copyright, and the exact English wording shown is George Long’s translation, first published in 1862 (London: Bell and Daldy) — well before 1931 and firmly in the public domain in the United States. Note that other renderings of this same passage may still be under copyright: A. S. L. Farquharson’s 1944 Oxford translation (“don’t do it… don’t say it”), for example, is not public domain.

This reflects the original work, which is public domain. If your exact English wording comes from a specific modern translation, that translation may itself still be under copyright — check the edition you quote.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

The catch

This one is authentic — but the viral version quietly hides which translation it is, and tidies up the punctuation.

George Long’s 1862 translation Uncredited translation

The exact phrasing that circulates is George Long’s public-domain rendering of Meditations 12.17, almost always posted with no translator credit. Internet Classics Archive ↗

Modern social-media reposts Altered

Long joined the two clauses with a colon (“…do not do it: if it is not true…”) and set them at the head of a longer meditation; the meme swaps in a full stop and lifts the maxim out of its passage. Different translators also word it differently — Farquharson’s 1944 Oxford version uses ‘don’t.’ Wikisource ↗

The thought and these words are really Marcus Aurelius’s — Meditations Book 12, §17, here in George Long’s 1862 translation. Internet Classics Archive ↗

Context

Why it endures

Marcus Aurelius never wrote the Meditations for readers. They are a private notebook of Stoic reminders, composed in Greek during the 170s AD while he governed and campaigned, and addressed only to himself. Book 12, the last, is the most compressed — short rules he could recall in a moment of pressure.

Section 17 is one of those rules: a two-part test for action and speech. Do nothing you judge wrong; say nothing you judge false. Stripped to a single line, it reads as a modern integrity slogan — which is exactly why it thrives online, usually without the surrounding thought about keeping one’s own judgement in one’s own power.

If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Truth Character

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Meditations, Book 12 (George Long translation)classics.mit.edu

The public-domain 1862 George Long translation; §17 carries the exact wording.
Marcus Aureliusen.wikiquote.org

Lists the line as a genuine Meditations quotation (Book XII, 17), not disputed.
The Meditations (Farquharson ed.), Book 12en.wikisource.org

A. S. L. Farquharson’s 1944 Oxford translation, for comparison of wording.
Meditations 12.17www.stoicsource.com

A focused reading of the passage in its full sentence.
Marcus Aureliusplato.stanford.edu

Scholarly overview of the emperor and the Meditations.
Meditations (book)en.wikipedia.org

Background on the text’s composition, structure, and translation history.

The true author

About Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius

121–180 AD · Roman emperor & Stoic philosopher

Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death and the last of the so-called ‘Five Good Emperors.’ While campaigning on the northern frontier he kept a private notebook of Stoic self-exhortations in Greek, never intended for publication, now known as the Meditations. Its twelfth and final book gathers some of his tersest rules for conduct — among them the maxim on doing right and speaking truth.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Marcus Aurelius. Meditations. Book 12, sec. 17. Translated by George Long. London: Bell and Daldy, 1862.

MLA (9th ed.)

Marcus Aurelius. Meditations. Translated by George Long, Bell and Daldy, 1862.

APA (7th ed.)

Marcus Aurelius. (1862). Meditations (G. Long, Trans.). Bell and Daldy. (Original work published ca. 170 CE)

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