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
execute life though thy
Execute every act of thy life as though it were thy last.
feast hence lately mouths seen sumptuous supper table thy weight
Varus did lately me to supper call, The table sumptuous was, the supper small; Loaden it was with weight of gold, not meat; Much to be seen was served, little to eat; Varus, our mouths not our eyes, to feast we're here; Take hence thy plate, or fil
advantage break esteem lose shall thee thy word
Never esteem anything as of advantage to thee that shall make thee break thy word or lose thy self-respect.
blessing ephemeral falls human humankind journey nature observe olive pass produced space thy time tree worthless
Always observe how ephemeral and worthless human things are. Pass then through this little space of time conformably to nature, and end thy journey in content, just as an olive falls off when it is ripe, blessing nature who produced it, and thanking the tree on which it grew.
folk night stars thou thy
Come, Caesar, even by night - let stars delay; If thou but come, thy folk will find it day
act execute last life though thy
Execute every act of life as though it were thy last
thee present-time thyself
Consider thyself to be dead, and to have completed thy life up to the present time; and live according to nature the remainder which is allowed thee.
refuse ifs thyself
All those things at which thou wishest to arrive by a circuitous road, thou canst have now, if thou dost not refuse them to thyself.
drinks mistake morning next till
It is a mistake to think that Acerra reeks of yesterday's liquor: Acerra always drinks till next morning
advantage blaming break circumstance esteem lose people word
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.
earth lightly rest thee
Rest lightly on her earth, for she trod never heavily on thee
act dignity life observed performance proper proportion remember
Remember this, - that there is a proper dignity and proportion to be observed in the performance of every act of life
life lives loses man nor remember
Remember that no man loses any other life than this which he now lives, nor lives any other than this which he now loses
challenged magnitude
I think if we had the same magnitude of devastation that they had, we would be very much challenged as well,