Marcus Aurelius

All is ephemeral — fame and the famous as well.

That which comes after ever conforms to that which has gone before.

Prize that which is best in the universe; and this is that which useth everything and ordereth everything.

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

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.

Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good.

All things are interwoven with one another; a sacred bond unites them; there is scarcely one thing that is isolated from another. Everything is coordinated, everything works together in giving form to one universe. The world-order is a unity made up of multiplicity: God is one, pervading all things; all being is one, all law is one (namely, the common reason which all thinking persons possess) and all truth is one– if, as we believe, there can be but one path to perfection for beings that are alike in kind and reason.

Yet living and dying, honour and dishonour, pain and pleasure, riches and poverty, and so forth are equally the lot of good men and bad. Things like these neither elevate nor degrade; and therefore they are no more good than they are evil.

Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant; all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed. Short, therefore, is man's life, and narrow is the corner of the earth wherein he dwells.

So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all; to endure it and prevail is great good fortune.

How easy it is to repel and to wipe away every impression which is troublesome or unsuitable, and immediately to be in all tranquility.

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.

You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.

It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.

Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.

The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.

Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together.

How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.

Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature's delight.

Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.

Not to display anger or other emotions. To be free of passion and yet full of love.

Do not then consider life a thing of any value. For look at the immensity of time behind thee, and to the time which is before thee, another boundless space. In this infinity then what is the difference between him who lives three days and him who lives three generations?

Yes, you can--if you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable.

You see how few things you have to do to live a satisfying and reverent life? If you can manage this, that's all even the gods can ask of you.

Not to live as if you had endless years ahead of you. Death overshadows you. While you're alive and able—be good.

But true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Good fortune: good character, good intentions, and good actions.

External things are not the problem. It's your assessment of them. Which you can erase right now.

Everything that happens is either endurable or not. If it's endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining. If it's unendurable . . . then stop complaining. Your destruction will mean its end as well.

There is a limit to the time assigned you, and if you don't use it to free yourself it will be gone and never return.

It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinions than our own.

When another blames you or hates you, or people voice similar criticisms, go to their souls, penetrate inside and see what sort of people they are. You will realize that there is no need to be racked with anxiety that they should hold any particular opinion about you.

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 all those applauding hands.

Nowhere you can go is more peaceful — more free of interruptions — than your own soul.

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.