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Quote by Marcus Aurelius

“What doesn't transmit light creates its own darkness.”

Quote by Marcus Aurelius

Book:Meditations: A New Translation

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Meditations: A New Translation

This book is a translation of the original Latin text by Marcus Aurelius, a Roman Emperor and philosopher. It consists of personal writings that reflect on his thoughts and experiences, providing insights into Stoic philosophy and its principles of living a virtuous life. more

Author

Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius, born in 121 AD and died in 180 AD, was an emperor of the Roman Empire. He is one of the Five Good Emperors and is known for his philosophical thoughts and the stability of his reign. He was not only an outstanding politician but also a famous Stoic philosopher, whose work 'Meditations' has had a profound impact on later generations. more

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“Not even the vicissitudes of fortune are contrary to nature or to the providential ordering of the universe. It all flows from the gods, who determine what is needed for the welfare of the whole universe, of which you are a part.”

Whole Universe Needed Flow Fortune Determine Contrary Welfare Vicissitudes

Book:The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

Source: The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

“Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in their station. Pray, shall not a man act like a man?”

Men Looks Praying Bird Plant Busy Look Up Stations Bees Spiders Ants

Book:The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

Source: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

“Do you see what little is required of a man to live a well-tempered and god-fearing life? Obey these precepts, and the gods will ask nothing more.”

Men Wells Littles Asks Gods Will

Book:The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

Source: The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

“I will march on in the path of nature till my legs sink under me, and then I shall be at rest, and expire into that air which has given me my daily breath.”

Given Path Air Breaths Legs March

Book:The Meditations: Translated from the Greek

Source: The Meditations: Translated from the Greek

“I bless the gods for not letting my education in rhetoric, poetry, and other literary studies come easily to me, and thereby sparing me from an absorbing interest in these subjects.”

Interest Study Subjects Bless Rhetoric Absorbing

Book:The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

Source: The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

“Be mindful at all times of the following: the nature of the whole universe, the nature of the part that is me, the relation of the one to the other, the one so vast, the other so small.”

Whole Universe Relation Following All Time

Book:The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

Source: The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

“Even the stoics agree that certainty is very hard to come at; that our assent is worth little, for where is infallibility to be found?”

Littles Hard Found Agree Certainty Infallibility

Book:Meditations

Source: Meditations

“The gods have provided me with clear and compelling signs of what it means to live in conformity to nature. They did their part. So far as their gifts, aid, and inspiration are concerned, nothing prevented me from following the path prescribed by nature. If from time to time I have strayed from this path, the fault lies with me and with my failure to heed the gods' signs, or rather, their explicit instructions.”

Ifs Mean Inspiration Lying Path Clear Concerned Faults Following Aids Conformity Instruction Compelling Heed Explicit

Book:The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

Source: The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

“Outward objects cannot take hold of the soul, nor force their passage into her, nor set any of her wheels going. No, the impression comes from herself, and it is her own motions which affect her. As for the contingencies of fortune, they are either great or little, according to the opinion she has of her own strength.”

Littles Soul Force Opinion Objects Fortune Impression Wheels Passages Contingency

Book:The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

Source: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

“Time is a kind of river, an irresistible flood sweeping up men and events and carrying them headlong, one after the other, to the great sea of being.”

Men Kind Sea Events Rivers Flood Irresistible Sweeping

Book:The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations

Source: The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations