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
art atheism apes
Within ten days thou wilt seem a god to those to whom thou art now a beast and an ape, if thou wilt return to thy principles and the worship of reason.
happiness sad broken-heart
Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.
horse tasks vines
Everything - a horse, a vine - is created for some duty... For what task, then, were you yourself created?
life gratitude philosophical
Each day provides its own gifts.
life real philosophical
Let men see, let them know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live.
life art philosophical
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.
happy-life mind bears
Always bear this in mind, that very little indeed is necessary for living a happy life.
truth men want
I cannot comprehend how any man can want anything but the truth.
ignorance home dark
If any man can convince me and bring home to me that which I do not think or act aright, gladly will I change; for I search after truth, by which man never yet was harmed. But he is harmed who abideth on still in his deception and ignorance.
meditation soul littles
You are a little soul carrying about a corpse, as Epictetus used to say.
life positive able
Stop whatever you're doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won't be able to do this anymore?
life strength believe
Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume that it is beyond the powers of man; but if anything is within the powers and province of man, believe that it is within your own compass also.
positive men pursue
The true worth of a man is to be measured by the objects he pursues.
procrastination thinking years
Think of all the years passed by in which you said to yourself "I'll do it tomorrow," and how the gods have again and again granted you periods of grace of which you have not availed yourself. It is time to realize that you are a member of the Universe, that you are born of Nature itself, and to know that a limit has been set to your time. Use every moment wisely, to perceive your inner refulgence, or 'twill be gone and nevermore within your reach.