Quotes from Marcus Aurelius

el no dejarme regir, ni aun en las cosas mínimas, por otros principios que por la razón;

To conclude, always observe how ephemeral and worthless human things are, and what was yesterday a speck of semen tomorrow will be a mummy or ashes.

Remember how long you have been putting this off, how many times you have been given a period of grace by the gods and not used it. It is high time now for you to understand the universe of which you are a part, and the governor of that universe of whom you constitute an emanation: and that there is a limit circumscribed to your time – if you do not use it to clear away your clouds, it will be gone, and you will be gone, and the opportunity will not return.

16. The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.

In a word, if there is a god, all is well; and if chance rules, do not thou also be governed by it.

Love all people, including those who do wrong. They may be acting unintentionally, out of ignorance. Even if they are acting intentionally, they can't harm you—that is, they can't make you a worse person than before. Only you can harm yourself, by fanning the flames of hatred and resentment. When someone wrongs you, identify the mistaken ideas that motivated their behavior. Then, instead of being angry, you'll pity them.

To follow the logos in all things is to be relaxed and energetic, joyful and serious at once.

To read carefully, and not to be satisfied with a superficial understanding of a book; nor hastily to give my assent to those who talk overmuch.

1. Nature is pliable, obedient. And the logos that governs it has no reason to do evil. It knows no evil, does none, and causes harm to nothing. It dictates all beginnings and all endings.

Socrates used to call popular beliefs "the monsters under the bed"—only useful for frightening children with.

received the idea of a polity in which there is the same law for all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed;

The highest good of man is consciously to work with God for the common good, and this is the sense in which the Stoic tried to live in accord with nature. In the individual it is virtue alone which enables him to do this; as Providence rules the universe, so virtue in the soul must rule man.

as the heaps of sand piled on one another hide the former sands, so in life the events which go before are soon covered by those which come after.

States will never be happy until rulers become philosophers or philosophers become rulers. —PLATO, The Republic

At all times, look at the thing itself—the thing behind the appearance—and unpack it by analysis: cause substance purpose and the length of time it exists.

That whatever happens has always happened, and always will, and is happening at this very moment, everywhere. Just like this. What links one human being to all humans: not blood, or birth, but mind.

Im allgemeinen schadet das Böse der Welt nicht, und im einzelnen Falle schadet es nur dem, dem es vergönnt ist, sich frei davon zu machen, sobald er nur will.

always to hope the best; and to be confident that my friends love me.

The others obey their own lead, follow their own impulses. Don't be distracted. Keep walking. Follow your own nature, and follow Nature - along the road they share.

Does anything genuinely beautiful need supplementing? No more than justice does—or truth, or kindness, or humility. Are any of those improved by being praised? Or damaged by contempt? Is an emerald suddenly flawed if no one admires it? Or gold, or ivory, or purple? Lyres? Knives? Flowers? Bushes? 21.

The responsibility is all yours; no one can stop you from being honest or straightforward.

According to this theory, man is like a dog tied to a moving wagon. If the dog refuses to run along with the wagon he will be dragged by it, yet the choice remains his: to run or be dragged.

36. Not to be overwhelmed by what you imagine, but just do what you can and should.

Where does our common reason come from? What gives us this capacity for discernment, right action, and law? All things must come from somewhere. Our bodies are made of elements that come from the earth and are hydrated by the earth's waters. Reason, too, must have a Source. This is a profound mystery.