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Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Quotes

Roman emperor

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Famous Marcus Aurelius Quotes

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”

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Author:Marcus Aurelius
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“Is your cucumber bitter? Throw it away. Are there briars in your path? Turn aside. That is enough. Do not go on and say, "Why were things of this sort ever brought into this world?" neither intolerable nor everlasting - if thou bearest in mind that it has its limits, and if thou addest nothing to it in imagination. Pain is either an evil to the body (then let the body say what it thinks of it!)-or to the soul. But it is in the power of the soul to maintain its own serenity and tranquility. . . .”

IfsThinkingWorldMindSoulEnoughBodyPainTurnsEvilImaginationAttitudePathThis WorldGoes OnLimitsBitterBitternessSerenityTranquilityEverlastingCucumbersBriars
Author:Marcus Aurelius
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“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.”

IfsWantLifeShouldHas BeensGodCareDeathReligionMemoriesGoneVirtueAtheismInspirational LifeIntegrityWorshipSuicideAtheistNobleWelcomeGood LifeVeganLoved OnesUnjustIf There Is A GodGod Is Not GreatReligion Today
Author:Marcus Aurelius
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“In this flowing stream, then, on which there is no abiding, what is there of the things which hurry by on which a man would set a high price? It would be just as if a man should fall in love with one of the sparrows which fly by, but it has already passed out of sight.”

IfsMenShouldWould BeFallSightFalling In LoveStreamsAbidingSparrowsHigh Prices
Book:Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Golden Sayings Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion
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“So you know how things stand. Now forget what they think of you. Be satisfied if you can live the rest of your life, however short, as your nature demands. Focus on that, and don't let anything distract you. You've wandered all over and finally realized that you never found what you were after: how to live. Not in syllogisms, not in money, or fame, or self-indulgence. Nowhere.”

IfsThinkingKnowsSelfFoundForgetKnow HowFocusFameDemandSatisfiedRest Of Your LifeIndulgenceThink Of YouSelf Indulgence
Book:The Modern Library Collection of Greek and Roman Philosophy 3-Book Bundle: Meditations; Selected Dialogues of Plato; The Basic Works of Aristotle
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“If you do the task before you always adhering to strict reason with zeal and energy and yet with humanity, disregarding all lesser ends and keeping the divinity within you pure and upright, as though you were even now faced with its recall - if you hold steadily to this, staying for nothing and shrinking from nothing, only seeking in each passing action a conformity with nature and in each word and utterance a fearless truthfulness, then the good life shall be yours. And from this course no man has the power to hold you back.”

IfsMenEndsReasonActionHumanityCoursesEnergyPureTasksSeekingPassingPassingsFearlessDivinityStayingConformityGood LifeWithin YouRecallsStrictZealTruthfulnessUtteranceShrinking
Author:Marcus Aurelius
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“That which has died falls not out of the universe. If it stays here, it also changes here, and is dissolved into its proper parts, which are elements of the universe and of thyself. And these too change, and they murmur not".”

IfsFallUniverseElementsDiedThyself
Book:Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Golden Sayings, Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus, Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion
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“Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.”

IfsDreamRememberGratitudeBlessingChiefsThankfulnessThankfulCraveBeing ThankfulIndulgeIndulge InThankful GratitudeExpressing GratitudeI Am ThankfulThankful For YouThankful ThanksgivingThanksgiving ThankfulBlessing YouBlessed And ThankfulThankful For BlessingsThankful For What You Have
Author:Marcus Aurelius
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“Remember that even if you were to live for three thousand years, or thirty thousand, you could not lose any other life than the one you have, and there will be no other life after it. So the longest and the shortest lives are the same. The present moment is shared by all living creatures, but the time that is past is gone forever. No one can lose the past or the future, for if they don't belong to you, how can they be taken from you?”

IfsLifeYearsMomentsPastRememberThreeLosesGoneForeverTakenThousandCreaturesThirtyPresent MomentThousand YearsLiving Creatures
Author:Marcus Aurelius
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“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?'”

IfsMomentsAsksFocusEssentialsSimplicityMore TimeTranquillity
Book:The Modern Library Collection of Greek and Roman Philosophy 3-Book Bundle: Meditations; Selected Dialogues of Plato; The Basic Works of Aristotle
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“Every moment think steadily as a Roman and a man to do what thou hast in hand with perfect and simple dignity, and feeling of affection, and freedom, and justice; and to give thyself relief from all other thoughts. And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last, laying aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and self-love, and discontent with the portion which has been given to thee.”

IfsThinkingMenGivingHas BeensSelfReasonMomentsFeelingsHandsLastsGivenJusticeSimplePerfectSelf LoveDignityPassionateAffectionCommandTheeHypocrisyReliefLive ByPortionsThyselfDiscontentAversionCarelessness
Book:沉思錄:讀了一百年還要再讀一百年的不朽鉅著
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“Since it is possible that thou mayest depart from life this very moment, regulate every act and thought accordingly. But to go away from among men, if there are gods, is not a thing to be afraid of, for the gods will not involve thee in evil; but if indeed they do not exist, or if they have no concern about human affairs, what is it to me to live in a universe devoid of gods or devoid of Providence? But Gods there are, undoubtedly, and they regard human affairs; and have put it wholly in our power, that we should not fall into what is truly evil.”

IfsMenShouldHumansMomentsFallUniverseEvilConcernRegardAffairGods WillTheeGoing AwayProvidence
Author:Marcus Aurelius
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“He who fears death either fears the loss of sensation or a different kind of sensation. But if thou shalt have no sensation, neither wilt thou feel any harm; and if thou shalt acquire another kind of sensation, thou wilt be a different kind of living being and thou wilt not cease to live.”

IfsFeelsKindDifferentLossHarmCeaseAcquireSensationsDifferent KindsReincarnationFear Of Death
Book:Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
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“Don't be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you've been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up? So what?”

IfsNeedsHelpingMotivationalWallSoldierAccomplishMissionsAshamedWoundedComradeNeed Help
Book:The Modern Library Collection of Greek and Roman Philosophy 3-Book Bundle: Meditations; Selected Dialogues of Plato; The Basic Works of Aristotle
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“Now departure from the world of men is nothing to fear, if gods exist: because they would not involve you in any harm. If they do not exist, or if they have no care for humankind, then what is life to me in a world devoid of gods, or devoid of providence? But they do exist, and they do care for humankind: and they have put it absolutely in man's power to avoid falling into the true kinds of harm.”

IfsMenWorldKindCareFallHarmHumankindProvidenceDepartureGod ExistsWhat Is Life
Author:Marcus Aurelius
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“When you are annoyed at someone's mistake, immediately look at yourself and reflect how you also fail; for example, in thinking that good equals money, or pleasure, or a bit of fame. By being mindful of this you'll quickly forget your anger, especially if you realize that the person was under stress, and could do little else. And, if you can, find a way to alleviate that stress.”

IfsThinkingWayLooksLittlesPersonsBitsRealizingForgetPleasureMistakeFailingExamplePerspectiveFameStressAnnoyedForget YouAlleviateLook At YourselfUnder Stress
Author:Marcus Aurelius
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“But if anything in thy own dispositiongives thee pain, who hinders thee from correcting thy opinion? And even if thou art pained because thou art not doing some particular thing which seems to thee to be right, why dost thou not rather act than complain?- But some insuperable obstacle is in the way?- Do not be grieved then, for the cause of its not being done depends not on thee.- But it is not worth while to live if this cannot be done.- Take thy departure then from life contentedly, just as he dies who is in full activity, and well pleased too with the things which are obstacles.”

IfsWayWellsArtDoneSeemsPainDiesCausesOpinionParticularDependsActivityObstaclesComplainingTheeDepartureHinderCorrectingBeing Done
Book:Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Golden Sayings, Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus, Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion
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