Marcus Aurelius · Meditations VII.1
Everywhere, up and down, you will find the same things — those that fill the old histories, the middle ages, and our own day. Nothing is new. All things are familiar and short-lived.
What this means
Reading old histories, Marcus notices the same ambitions and griefs repeating in every age, including his own. If nothing is genuinely new, then no misfortune is uniquely yours to bear. The thought is meant to steady him: he is living an old, short, familiar story.
On time, change, judgment.