Observe always that everything is the result of a change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and to make new ones like them
Written byMarcus Aurelius121–180 AD · Roman emperor & Stoic philosopher
This is a real passage from Marcus Aurelius’s ‘Meditations,’ Book IV, section 36 ↗. The thought is authentically his — but this exact English wording matches none of the standard published translations; it is a smoothed, modernized rendering closest to George Long’s classic 1862 line.
“Observe always that everything is the result of a change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and to make new ones like them” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book IV.36 (c. AD 170–180). A genuine passage; the popular English wording is a modernized rendering, not a standard published translation.
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? We couldn’t verify where this wording comes from, so there’s no rights status to give. Safe to present as an unverified or anonymous line — just don’t assert a specific author or source.
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In context
Evoking the world of Marcus Aurelius — Roman emperor (161–180) & Stoic philosopher. Theme: "Observe always that everything is the result of a change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and to make new ones like them". 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 εὶς εαυτόν), Book IV.36
Composed
c. AD 170–180, written in Greek as the emperor’s private notebook
Translation
Exact wording unattributed; nearest standard rendering is George Long (1862, public domain)
Attribution
Genuine — verified against Wikiquote’s sourced section and every catalogued translation
Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are and to make new things like them. For everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be.
Meditations IV.36
George Long’s public-domain 1862 translation of the full section IV.36. The viral wording (“Observe always that everything is the result of a change … get used to thinking … existing forms”) is a loosened modern paraphrase of this same passage.
The passage is Marcus Aurelius, Meditations IV.36 ↗, here in George Long’s 1862 translation: “the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are and to make new things like them.”
WIST’s side-by-side of 15 translations of 4.36 ↗ (Casaubon 1634 → Gill 2013) shows the same thought in every version — but none matches the popular “get used to thinking … existing forms” wording, including Staniforth (1964): “Observe how all things are continually being born of change.”
The underlying passage is ancient (Greek, c. AD 170–180) and long in the public domain, and standard English translations such as George Long’s 1862 version are also public domain. But the exact wording quoted here matches no identifiable published translation — it is an anonymous modern web rendering — so no clear rights status can be assigned to this specific English text.
Fact-check
Wording watch
The name is right — this really is Marcus Aurelius — but the wording is not any standard translation. Quote sites circulate a smoothed, editor-friendly version of Meditations IV.36 with no named translator.
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The exact wordingAn unattributed modern rendering paraphrase
The popular text — “Observe always that everything is the result of a change … get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms” — matches none of the 15 catalogued translations ↗ of 4.36. It reads as a loosened web edit closest to George Long’s 1862 ending, “to make new things like them.”
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Sometimes credited toMaxwell Staniforth (Penguin, 1964) not this wording
Staniforth’s actual 4.36 reads “Observe how all things are continually being born of change,” not the viral phrasing, per the translation comparison ↗ — so crediting this exact wording to Staniforth is a mistake.
✓Bottom line: the idea and the author are authentic Marcus Aurelius (Meditations IV.36 ↗); the exact English sentence is a modernized rendering of unknown editorial origin.
Context
Why it resonates
Section IV.36 sits at the heart of Stoic physics: the cosmos is a single, endlessly self-renewing process in which nothing is lost, only transformed. Marcus reminds himself that decay and death are not violations of nature but nature’s very method — “everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be.”
The line travels well because it turns a hard fact into a consolation: change is not something Nature tolerates but something it ‘loves.’ That warmth is partly a gift of the loosened modern wording, which softens the sterner cadence of the older translations.
Nature loves nothing so much as to change existing forms and make new ones like them.
On the translation history
The Meditations were written in Koine Greek and circulated only after Marcus’s death. English versions run from Meric Casaubon (1634) through George Long (1862), the Loeb Haines (1916), Farquharson (1944), Staniforth (1964), Gregory Hays (2003) and beyond — each rendering 4.36 slightly differently. The wording most people quote today does not correspond to any one of these; it is a smoothed composite of uncertain origin.
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Filed under
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
121–180 AD · Roman emperor (161–180) & Stoic philosopher
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from AD 161 to 180 and the last of the so-called ‘Five Good Emperors.’ His Meditations — a private notebook written in Greek, never meant for publication — is one of the foundational texts of Stoic philosophy. Its recurring theme is the impermanence and constant transformation of all things, an idea he drew from Heraclitus and the Stoics; section IV.36 is one of its clearest statements.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
Primary source — Chicago
Marcus Aurelius. Meditations, Book IV.36. Translated by George Long. London, 1862. (Greek original composed c. AD 170–180.) The popular English wording does not correspond to this or any other catalogued translation.
MLA (9th ed.)
Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations. Translated by George Long, 1862.
APA (7th ed.)
Aurelius, M. (1862). Meditations (G. Long, Trans.). (Original work published c. AD 170–180)
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Observe always that everything is the result of a change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and to make new ones like them’?” Last verified 10 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/observe-always-that-everything-is-the-result-of-a-change