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
vex spirit heed
Vex not thy spirit at the course of things, they heed not thy vexations
air soul atheism
If souls continue to exist, how does the air contain them from eternity?
time action unnecessary
Most of what we say and do is unnecessary: remove the superfluity, and you will have more time and less bother. So in every case one should prompt oneself: 'Is this, or is it not, something necessary?' And the removal of the unnecessary should apply not only to actions but to thoughts also: then no redundant actions either will follow.
thinking mind speak
It is possible to depart from life at this moment. Have this thought in mind whenever you act, speak, or think.
valentines-day fate destiny
Love the people with whom fate brings you together
satisfaction satisfied
Be satisfied with your business, and learn to love what you were bred to.
pain soul mind
It will suffice thee to remember as concerning pain ... that the mind may, by stopping all manner of commerce and sympathy with the body, still retain its own tranquility.
single-life soul substance
The universe is a single life comprising one substance and one soul.
ignorance errors deeds
Persuade me or prove to me that I am mistaken in thought or deed, and I will gladly change - for it is the truth I seek, and the truth never harmed anyone. Harm comes from persisting in error and clinging to ignorance.
judgment ifs
If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it.
cheerful reason tranquil
He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and collected.
life-is persons
A person's life is what their thoughts make it.
reason vain appetite
Blot out vain pomp; check impulse; quench appetite; keep reason under its own control.
art mind bears
This thou must always bear in mind, what is the nature of the whole, and what is my nature, and how this is related to that, and what kind of a part it is of what kind of a whole; and that there is no one who hinders thee from always doing and saying the things which are according to the nature of which thou art a part.