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
moving thinking soul
Things themselves cannot touch the soul, not in the least degree, nor have they admission to the soul nor can they turn or move the soul: it turns and moves itself alone and whatever judgment it may think proper to make, such it makes by remaking for itself the things that present themselves to it
benefits bees doe
What does not benefit the hive is no benefit to the bee.
motivation men worry
I am an old man and have had many worries, but most have never come to pass.
gratitude whole universe
The whole universe is change and life itself is but what you deem it - either gratefully better than or bitterly worse than something else that you alone choose.
retirement space soul
Are you distracted by outward cares? Then allow yourself a space of quiet wherein you can add to your knowledge of the Good and learn to curb your restlessness. Nowhere can a man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul. Avail yourself often, then, of this retirement, and so continually renew yourself.
age lapses literature
As for literature, thefts cannot harm it, while the lapse of ages augments its value
reading writing men
He does not write at all whose poems no man reads
life past space
Deem not life a thing of consequence. For look at the yawning void of the future, and at that other limitless space, the past.
life vex may
Vex not thy spirit at the course of things; they heed not thy vexation. How ludicrous and outlandish is astonishment at anything that may happen in life.
opportunity clouds gone
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
fall men departure
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.
solitude danger alone-life
He that lives alone lives in danger; society avoids many dangers.
wall soldier needs
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?
perception world life-is
The world is nothing but change, our life is only perception.