Marcus Aurelius' Meditations (Book III, Section 16 in many translations, or nearby sections in others).The original Stoic quote from Marcus Aurelius is approximately:
"Pass then through this little space of time conformably to nature, and end thy journey in content, just as an olive falls off when it is ripe, blessing nature who produced it and thanking the tree on which it grew."
Not pandemonium, but a quiet passage through this brief span of time, in harmony with Nature's own rhythm, without clamor or haste.
Go to the woods, or stay where thou art, but live deliberately—front only the essential facts of life, suck out all the marrow, and let the rest go by like mist on the pond at dawn. Simplify, simplify; cast off the needless burdens that fritter away the soul, for in proportion as a man simplifies his life, the laws of the universe appear less complex, and solitude loses its sting, poverty its hardship.
Pass then through this little space conformably to Nature, resigning thyself to her seasons as the leaf to the frost or the fruit to its ripening hour. Let not chaos reign within thee—there is no pandemonium in the true wild, only order profound and patient. Nature does her best each moment to make us whole; do not resist her. Breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and yield to the earth's gentle influence.
When the time comes—as it must for all things ripe—fall off willingly, like the olive from the bough, blessing the soil that nourished thee and giving thanks to the tree that bore thee up. There is no continuance of death; it is but a transient shadow. Nature presents nothing in a state of death, only transformation, ever renewing.Live in each season as it passes; find eternity in the present moment, launch thyself on every wave, and when the journey ends, depart content, having lived deep and not merely existed. The wildness preserves the world—embrace it, and let monkeying imitation cease; grow in thy own circle, spreading not by force but by quiet ripening.
So ends the fretful noise; so begins the true life.
Pass then through this little space conformably to Nature, resigning thyself to her seasons as the leaf to the frost or the fruit to its ripening hour. Let not chaos reign within thee—there is no pandemonium in the true wild, only order profound and patient. Nature does her best each moment to make us whole; do not resist her. Breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and yield to the earth's gentle influence.
When the time comes—as it must for all things ripe—fall off willingly, like the olive from the bough, blessing the soil that nourished thee and giving thanks to the tree that bore thee up. There is no continuance of death; it is but a transient shadow. Nature presents nothing in a state of death, only transformation, ever renewing.Live in each season as it passes; find eternity in the present moment, launch thyself on every wave, and when the journey ends, depart content, having lived deep and not merely existed. The wildness preserves the world—embrace it, and let monkeying imitation cease; grow in thy own circle, spreading not by force but by quiet ripening.
So ends the fretful noise; so begins the true life.