Quotes from Marcus Aurelius

Pleasures, when they go beyond a certain limit, are but punishments.

Remember that what pulls the strings is the force hidden within; there lies the power to persuade, there the life -- there, if one must speak out, the real man.

Remind yourself that it is not the future or what has passed that afflicts you, but always the present.

Set yourself in motion, if it is in your power, and do not look about you to see if anyone will observe it; nor yet expect Plato's Republic: but be content if the smallest thing goes on well, and consider such an event to be no small matter.

Shall any man hate me? That will be his affair. But I will be mild and benevolent toward every man, and ready to show even him his mistake, not reproachfully, nor yet as making a display of my endurance, but nobly and honestly.

Some things are rushing into existence, others out of it. Some of what now exists is already gone. Change and flux constantly remake the world, just as the incessant progression of time remakes eternity. We find ourselves in a river. Which of the things around us should we value when none of them can offer a firm foothold? Like an attachment to a sparrow: we glimpse it and it's gone.

Someone bathes in haste; don't say he bathes badly, but in haste. Someone drinks a lot of wine; don't say he drinks badly, but a lot. Until you know their reasons, how do you know that their actions are vicious?

Start praying like this and you'll see. Not "some way to sleep with her" - but a way to stop wanting to. Not "some way to get rid of him" - but a way to stop trying. Not "some way to save my child" - but a way to lose fear. Redirect your prayers like that, and watch what happens.

The art of living is more like that of wrestling than of dancing; the main thing is to stand firm and be ready for an unseen attack.

The best answer to anger is silence.

The following are non-sequiturs: 'I am richer, therefore superior to you'; or 'I am a better speaker, therefore a better person, than you'.

The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject.

The present is the only thing of which a man can be deprived, if it is true that this is the only thing which he has, and that a man cannot lose something he does not already possess.

Then isn't it better to do what's up to you - like a free man - than to be passively controlled by what isn't, like a slave or a beggar?

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.

To be sure, external things of whatever kind require skill in their use, but we must not grow attached to them; whatever they are, they should only serve for us to show how skilled we are in our handling of them.

Waste no time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time.

When a guide meets up with someone who is lost, ordinarily his reaction is to direct him on the right path, not mock or malign him, then turn on his heel and walk away. As for you, lead someone to the truth and you will find that he can follow. But as long as you don't point it out to him, don't make fun of him; be aware of what you need to work on instead.

You can commit injustice by doing nothing.

You can pass your life in an equable flow of happiness if you can follow the right way and think and act in the right way.

You will give yourself relief, if you do every act of your life as if it were the last.

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.