Marcus Aurelius Quotes
Observe always that everything is the result of change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and make new ones like them.
You are a little soul carrying about a corpse, as Epictetus used to say.
When you arise in the moring, think of what a precious privelege it is to be alive-- to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love
Everything that happens, happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so.
God give me patience, to reconcile with what I am not able to changeGive me strength to change what I canAnd give me wisdom to distinguish one from another.
All things fade into the storied past, and in a little while are shrouded in oblivion.
I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.
Will any man despise me? Let him see to it. But I will see to it that I may not be found doing or saying anything that deserves to be despised.
How good it is, when you have roast meat or suchlike foods before you, to impress on your mind that this is the dead body of a fish, this the dead body of a bird or pig.
The pride which is proud of want of pride is the most intolerable of all.
There’s nothing more insufferable than people who boast about their own humility
Think not so much of what you lack as of what you have: but of the things that you have, select the best, and then reflect on how eagerly you would have sought them if you did not have them.
Be your own master, and look at things as a man, as a human being, as a citizen, as a mortal creature.
What am I but a little flesh, a little breath, and the thinking part that rules the whole?
It is in your own power to maintain the beauty of your soul, or to be a decent human being.
Swiftly the remembrance of all things is buried in the gulf of eternity.
A key point to bear in mind: The value of attentiveness varies in proportion to its object. You’re better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve.
Vex not thy spirit at the course of things they heed not thy vexation. How ludicrous and outlandish is astonishment at anything that may happen in life.
Here is a rule to remember when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not "This is a misfortune " but "To bear this worthily is good fortune."
There is change in all things. You yourself are subject to continual change and some decay and this is common to the entire universe.
A man should remove not only unnecessary acts but also unnecessary thoughts for then superfluous activity will not follow.
Time is like a river of fleeting events and its current is strong as soon as something comes into sight it is swept past us and something else takes its place and that too will be swept away.
Consider how much more you often suffer from your anger and grief than from those very things for which you are angry and grieved.
If you are distressed by anything external the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.
Take full account of the excellencies which you possess and in gratitude remember how you would hanker after them if you had them not.
Accept the things To which fate binds you and Love the people with whom fate Brings you together But do so with all your heart.
The art of living is more like that of wrestling than of dancing. The main thing is to stand firm and be ready for an unforeseen attack.
To live each day as though one's last never flustered never apathetic never attitudinizing-here is perfection of character.
Time is a sort of river of passing events and strong is its current no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place and this too will be swept away.