Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aureliuswas Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. Marcus Aurelius was the last of the so-called Five Good Emperors. He was a practitioner of Stoicism, and his untitled writing, commonly known as the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, is the most significant source of our modern understanding of ancient Stoic philosophy...
NationalityRoman
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth26 April 121
CityRome, Italy
Marcus Aurelius quotes about
letting-go gone action
It is not the actions of others which trouble us (for those actions are controlled by their governing part), but rather it is our own judgments. Therefore remove those judgments and resolve to let go of your anger, and it will already be gone. How do you let go? By realizing that such actions are not shameful to you.
revenge anger aggressors
The most complete revenge is not to imitate the aggressor.
time men gone
The passing minute is every man's equal possession but what has once gone by is not ours.
positive-thinking color soul
The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.
atheist wish use
Hast thou reason? I have. Why then dost not thou use it? For if this does its own work, what else dost thou wish?
attitude soul body
It is a shameful thing for the soul to faint while the body still perseveres.
perception human-nature unhappiness
Both happiness and unhappiness depend on perception
gratitude cheer men
Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned to thee, live rationally, and part with life cheerfully, as drops the ripe olive, extolling the season that bore it and the tree that matured it.
inspirational life echoes
What we do now echoes in eternity.
duration today generations
Everything is banal in experience, fleeting in duration, sordid in content; in all respects the same today as generations now dead and buried have found it to be.
gratitude sadness expression
In an expression of true gratitude, sadness is conspicuous only by its absence
gratitude quality looks
Look beneath the surface; let not the several quality of a thing nor its worth escape thee.
myth turns all-things
All things fade and quickly turn to myth.
judgement mind form
It is within our power not to make a judgement about something, and so not disturb our minds; for nothing in itself possesses the power to form our judgements.