Describing Without Adjectives: Marcus Aurelius's Technique for Taking the Drama Out of Everything
Introduction
In the sixth book of the Meditations, there is a note that at first glance looks like an exercise in bad mood. Marcus Aurelius sets out to look at things "as they are." A dish of roasted meat, he writes, is the dead body of a fish, a bird, or a pig. Falernian wine, the most prized in Rome, is fermented grape juice. And the imperial purple toga that he himself wore is sheep's wool dyed with the blood of a shellfish.
He was not bitter. He was practicing a technique scholars have called "physical definition" or objective description: describing an object or a situation stripped of the prestige, desire, or fear we attach to it, until we see what is actually there.
Adjectives carry the emotion. Strip them from the facts, and you will often see that the drama was yours.
This article explains how to use this technique against desire and anxiety, and when it is better not to use it.
The Example of the Purple Toga
Imperial purple was one of the most powerful symbols in Rome. Only a few could wear it, and its color evoked power, wealth, and status. When Marcus Aurelius writes that it is simply wool dyed with shellfish blood, he is not denying what it represents: he is reminding himself that the prestige surrounding it is not in the fabric, but in the mind of the beholder.
He ends the note with a reflection: just as these descriptions penetrate things and show what they truly are, we should do the same throughout life. Whenever something appears overly worthy of admiration, we must strip it bare, see how little it amounts to, and remove the story with which it presents itself.
In another note, in the third book, he gives the general rule: before every impression, define and describe it so as to see what it is in itself, bare, in its entirety and in its parts, and call it by its name.
Why Adjectives Carry the Emotion
When we describe what happens to us, we almost never stick to the facts alone. We add value judgments in the form of loaded adjectives and verbs:
- "My boss humiliated me in the meeting."
- "This awful errand is going to take me all morning."
- "That new phone is incredible, I need it."
Each of those words amplifies the emotion—and does so before we even have time to evaluate it. Objective description aims to separate those layers, following the same Stoic logic that distinguishes fact from judgment.
The Technique in Three Steps
Step 1: What happened?
Describe the situation the way a camera would: what was seen, what was heard, how long it lasted. Without interpretations.
"My boss said, in front of five people, that my report had three numerical errors."
Step 2: What did I think?
Write down the judgment you added.
"I thought they were humiliating me and that everyone thinks I'm incompetent."
Step 3: What judgment did I add that isn't in the facts?
Compare the first two steps and mark the difference.
"The facts are three errors pointed out in public. 'Humiliation' and 'incompetent' are my interpretations. I might have preferred to hear it in private, but the errors existed and I can fix them."
The emotion does not necessarily disappear, but it usually drops in intensity and lets you see what can be done.
Using It Against Desire
Marcus Aurelius's original application was against desire and prestige: things craved too strongly or admired more than they deserve. Some modern examples:
- A luxury car: assembled metal, glass, and plastic that takes you from one point to another just like a simpler car, and loses a large share of its value in the first few years.
- A tempting ultra-processed snack: refined flour, sugar, fat, and salt combined to make it hard to stop eating.
- A "like" on social media: a notification generated when another person briefly taps a screen.
- A job with a grandiose title: a set of responsibilities, schedules, and meetings, plus a line in your email signature.
The goal is not to despise everything, but to see clearly whether the desire is justified by what the thing actually is or by the story told about it.
Using It Against Fear and Anxiety
The same technique works for things that frighten us:
- A meeting with the boss: two people in a room for thirty minutes, talking about work.
- An exam: a sheet of questions answered over two hours.
- A public presentation: speaking for ten minutes in front of a group of people who, for the most part, are thinking about their own affairs.
Describing things this way does not eliminate what is at stake, but it returns the situation to its true size. Anxiety tends to grow when what we fear is vague and enormous; objective description makes it concrete and bounded.
An Important Warning
The technique carries a risk: becoming cynical about what you love. If applied to everything indiscriminately, it can drain the meaning out of valuable experiences. Describing a hug as "the pressure of two bodies" is accurate, but it does not help you live better.
The Stoics used it mainly for two things: lowering the intensity of desires that Hijacked behavior and reducing the prestige of external things admired to excess—not for emptying relationships, beauty, or meaningful moments of their value. In fact, Marcus Aurelius also wrote notes about the beauty of everyday things: the cracks that form in bread as it bakes, or the ripeness of figs.
The question to ask before applying it is: is this emotion dominating me or pulling me away from what I want? If the answer is yes, objective description can help. If not, there is no need for it.
Common Mistakes
- Using it to invalidate other people's emotions. "It's just a meeting" can sound dismissive to someone who is anxious. The technique is for your own use.
- Confusing it with denial. Describing objectively is not saying that something doesn't matter; it is seeing what is actually there.
- Using it without a pause. In the middle of an intense emotion, it can be hard. Sometimes it helps to breathe and apply it a few minutes later.
- Stopping at the description. After seeing the fact clearly, the key question follows: what is up to me?
Conclusion
Marcus Aurelius described imperial purple as dyed wool not to despise it, but so that it would not rule over him. This week, choose one situation that makes you anxious and one object you desire more than you should. For each one, write out the three steps: what it is in facts, what you thought, and what judgment you added. Compare how you feel before and after writing it down, from 0 to 10. If the technique works, keep it ready for the next time something seems bigger than it really is.
References
- Marcus Aurelius. Meditations, III.2, III.11, and VI.13.
- Hadot, P. (1992). La citadelle intérieure: Introduction aux Pensées de Marc Aurèle. Fayard.
- Robertson, D. (2019). How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. St. Martin's Press.
- Vázquez, M. (2019). Invicto: Logra más. Sufre menos. Fitness Revolucionario.