Marcus Aurelius Quotes

Or is it your reputation that's bothering you? But look at how soon we're all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that swallows it all. The emptiness of those applauding hands. The people who praise us; how capricious they are, how arbitrary. And the tiny region it takes place. The whole earth a point in space - and most of it uninhabited.

‎"Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial

How powerful is man! He is able to do all that God wishes him to do. He is able to accept all that God sends upon him.

No one can lose either the past or the future - how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess? ... It is only the present moment of which either stands to be deprived: and if this is all he has, he cannot lose what he does not have.

Everything is born from change. ...there is nothing nature loves more that to alter what exists and make new things like it. All that exists is the seed of what will emerge from it. You think the only seeds are the one that make plants and children? Go deeper.

...small too even the longest fame thereafter, which is itself subject to a succession of little men who quickly die, and have no knowledge of themselves, let alone of those long dead.

Accustom yourself not to be disregarding of what someone else has to say: as far as possible enter into the mind of the speaker.

Consider when thou art much vexed or grieved, that man's life is only a moment, and after a short time we are all laid out dead.

Consider how many do not even know your name, and how many will soon forget it, and how those who now praise you will presently blame you.

The wise man sees in the misfortune of others what he should avoid.

Blot out vain pomp; check impulse; quench appetite; keep reason under its own control.

Observe constantly that all things take place by change.

The act of dying is one of the acts of life.

Where a man can live, he can also live well.

Nothing befalls a man except what is in his nature to endure.

The world is a living being - one nature, one soul. Keep that in mind.

We must press on then, in haste; not simply because every hour brings us nearer to death, but because even before then our powers of perception and comprehension begin to deteriorate.

Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil.

Each day provides its own gifts.

Discard everything except these few truths: we can live only in the present moment, in this brief now; all the rest of our life is dead and buried or shrouded in uncertainty. Short is the life we lead, and small our patch of earth.

Men are born for each other's sake, so either teach people or endure them

Anything that is beautiful is beautiful just as it is. Praise forms no part of its beauty, since praise makes things neither better nor worse. This applies even more to what it commonly called beautiful: natural objects, for example, or works of art. True beauty has no need of anything beyond itself.

Unhappy am I because this has happened to me.- Not so, but happy am I, though this has happened to me, because I continue free from pain, neither crushed by the present nor fearing the future.

God sees the minds (ruling principles) of all men bared of the material vesture and rind and impurities. For with his intellectual part alone he touches the intelligence only which has flowed and been derived from himself into these bodies. And if thou also usest thyself to do this, thou wilt rid thyself of thy much trouble. For he who regards not the poor flesh which envelops him, surely will not trouble himself by looking after raiment and dwelling and fame and such like externals and show.

This is the mark of a perfect character - to pass through each day as though it were the last, without agitation, without torpor, and without pretense.

A man's life is what his thoughts make of it.

For outward show is a wonderful perverter of the reason.

Understand however that every man is worth just so much as the things are worth about which he busies himself.

In the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present - I am rising to the work of a human being. Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for which I exist and for which I was brought into the world?

Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.

...in the ways of Nature there is no evil to be found.

A great estate is a great disadvantage to those who do not know how to use it, for nothing is more common than to see wealthy persons live scandalously and miserably; riches do them no service in order to virtue and happiness; therefore 'tis precept and principle, not an estate, that makes a man good for something.

Remember how often you have postponed minding your interest, and let slip those opportunities the gods have given you. It is now high time to consider what sort of world you are part of, and from what kind of governor of it you are descended; that you have a set period assigned you to act in, and unless you improve it to brighten and compose your thoughts, it will quickly run off with you, and be lost beyond recovery.

The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.

When you are offended at anyone's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. By attending to them, you will forget your anger and learn to live wisely.

Be not unwilling in what thou doest, neither selfish nor unadvised nor obstinate; let not over-refinement deck out thy thought; be not wordy nor a busybody.

Death is a release from the impressions of the senses, and from desires that make us their puppets, and from the vagaries of the mind, and from the hard service of the flesh.

The greatest part of what we say and do is really unnecessary. If a man takes this to heart, he will have more leisure and less uneasiness.

Men exist for each other. Then either improve them, or put up with them.

Your task is to stand straight; not to be held straight.

There is no man so blessed that some who stand by his deathbed won't hail the occasion with delight.

...the sole thing of which any man can be deprived is the present; since this is all he owns, and nobody can lose what is not his.

While you live, while it is in your power, be good.

Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you'll have more time, and more tranquillity. Ask yourself at every moment, 'Is this necessary?'

It is within our power not to make a judgement about something, and so not disturb our minds; for nothing in itself possesses the power to form our judgements.

"Sweep me up and send me where you please." For there I will retain my spirit, tranquil and content, as long as it can feel and act in harmony with its own nature. Is a change of place enough reason for my soul to become unhappy and worn, for me to become depressed, humbled, cowering, and afraid? Can you discover any reasons for this?

If this is neither my own badness, nor an effect of my own badness, and the common weal is not injured, why am I troubled about it? And what is the harm to the common weal?

Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.