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
certain consider correct deal dost enable great judgment learn man men pass reference thou understand whether wrong
Consider that thou dost not even understand whether men are doing wrong or not, for many things are done with a certain reference to circumstance. And, in short, a man must learn a great deal to enable him to pass a correct judgment on another man's acts.
astonished fraud frequently friend good learn man regard
Are you astonished Aulus, that our friend Fabullinus is so frequently deceived? A good man has always something to learn in regard to fraud
enjoy life man quick
No man is quick enough to enjoy life
formed happens man nature
Nothing happens to any man which he is not formed by nature to bear.
exist free robber writes
The robber of your free will," writes Epictetus, "does not exist
alike creatures remembered
All of us are creatures of a day; the rememberer and the remembered alike
eagerly reflect select sought thou
Think not so much of what thou hast not, as of what thou hast; but of the things which thou hast select the best, and reflect how eagerly they would have been sought if thou hadst them not
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.
greater worth
A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions
escape finding life object oneself ranks side
The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.
commission sin
There is often a sin of omission as well as of commission
life thoughts universe
The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it.
both remembered remembers
Everything is only for a day, both that which remembers and that which is remembered
aside cucumber throw turn
A cucumber is bitter.' Throw it away. 'There are briars in the road.' Turn aside from them. This is enough. Do not add, 'And why were such things made in the world?