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
color emeralds matter
No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be emerald, my color undiminished.
decision upset shapes
You don't have to turn this into something. It doesn't have to upset you. Things can't shape our decisions by themselves.
soul perception substance
Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web.
fall men evil
Since it is possible that thou mayest depart from life this very moment, regulate every act and thought accordingly. But to go away from among men, if there are gods, is not a thing to be afraid of, for the gods will not involve thee in evil; but if indeed they do not exist, or if they have no concern about human affairs, what is it to me to live in a universe devoid of gods or devoid of Providence? But Gods there are, undoubtedly, and they regard human affairs; and have put it wholly in our power, that we should not fall into what is truly evil.
love fate spun
Love only what befalls you and is spun for you by fate.
death ephemeral remember
Everything is ephemeral, both that which remembers and that which is remembered.
fate perfection each-day
This is moral perfection: to live each day as though it were the last; to be tranquil, sincere, yet not indifferent to one's fate.
giving advice attention
Give full attention and devotion to each act.
thinking
All is as thinking makes it so
men
Men exist for each other. Then either improve them, or put up with them.
men privilege imagine
How barbarous, to deny men the privilege of pursuing what they imagine to be their proper concerns and interests! Yet, in a sense, this is just what you are doing when you allow your indignation to rise at their wrongdoing; for after all, they are only following their own apparent concerns and interests. You say they are mistaken? Why then, tell them so, and explain it to them, instead of being indignant.
men rejection mind
You are making an inopportune rejection of what Nature has given you today, if all your mind is set on what men will say of you tomorrow.
joy deeds rift
Know the joy of life by piling good deed on good deed until no rift or cranny appears between them.
wise men principles
Search men's governing principles, and consider the wise, what they shun and what they cleave to.