Marcus Aurelius

All is ephemeral — fame and the famous as well.

Begin the morning by saying to thyself: I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil. But I, who have seen the nature of the good, that it is beautiful, and of the bad, that it is ugly, can neither be injured by any of them, nor be angry with my kinsman.

Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist.

Time is a 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.

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.

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.

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.

In the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present — I am rising to the work of a human being.

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

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

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?

From my mother, piety and beneficence, and abstinence, not only from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts; and further, simplicity in my way of living, far removed from the habits of the rich.

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

Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, sea-shores, and mountains. But this is altogether a mark of the most common sort of men, for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself. For nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire than into his own soul.

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

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

The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Even if you're going to live three thousand more years, or thirty thousand, remember that nobody lives longer than they do right now, and that you can't live a longer past either. So the longest life and the shortest amount to the same thing. The present moment belongs to all alike, though the past is lost to one man and another hasn't yet reached it. You can only lose the present moment.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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