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
break fast rest rock sink stands waters waves
Be like a headland of rock on which the waves break incessantly; but it stands fast and around it the seething of the waters sink to rest
agree alike bad husband since wonder
Since you are so well matched, and so much alike - a very bad wife, and a very bad husband - I wonder that you do not agree
commission sin
There is often a sin of omission as well as of commission
allowed content fret grievance instead living measure pounds since substance three time
Do you make a grievance of weighing so many pounds only instead of three hundred? Then why fret about living so many years only, instead of more? Since you are content with the measure of substance allowed you, be so also with the measure of time
aim sin sinners spare writings
In all my writings my aim has been to spare sinners and assail sin
pain evil sin
It is a sin to persue pleasure as a good and to avoid pain as a evil.
becoming action sin
The sinner sins against himself; the wrongdoer wrongs himself, becoming the worse by his own action.
single-life soul substance
The universe is a single life comprising one substance and one soul.
exist free robber writes
The robber of your free will," writes Epictetus, "does not exist
compared embrace music sexual
The sexual embrace can only be compared with music and with prayer.
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
both remembered remembers
Everything is only for a day, both that which remembers and that which is remembered
future lies life past spent uncertain within
Everyman's life lies within the present, for the past is spent and done with, and the future is uncertain
bubble dig ready wellspring within
Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.