Quotes by Marcus Aurelius

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Remain simple, good, grave, natural, friend of justice, ... benevolent, friendly, resolved to act as is proper.

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Do not be attracted by sophisticated sophistication, do not write sophisticated works.

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Don't rush to agree with the talkative one.

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Don't settle for a cursory examination.

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People live for each other, to learn each other or reconcile with each other.

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If something bothers you, it's not the thing that's to blame, it's what you think about it. And it is in your power to change what you think

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Man's duty is to love those who offend him.

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Do whatever nature tells you in the moment. Do not hope to establish Plato's republic, be satisfied if you move forward at least one step, and do not consider it an insignificant success. For who can change the way people think? And what can there be without such a change but slavery, wailing, and feigned submission?

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Everything is based on conviction; and the conviction is up to you. Therefore, when you wish, remove the conviction, and like a sailor who has passed the rocks, you will reach the stillness, the peace and the calm harbor.

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Everything you do and everything you say and think must be done as if every moment were the last. The longest life is no different from the shortest. For the present is the same for all, and therefore the losses are the same, and all are reduced, one after the other, to the moment. No one can lose either the past or the future. Because who can take from me what I don't have?

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It is not easy to point to someone who has become unhappy because he was inattentive to what is happening in a foreign soul. But he will certainly be unhappy who does not watch what is happening to his own soul.

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Constantly keep in mind all that exists now as it once existed; and keep in mind that all these will be in the future, and imagine the same dramas and sights that you have learned from your own experience or from the stories of past times, as for example: the whole court of Adrian, the whole court of Antony, the whole court of Philip, of Alexander, of Cressus. As they were one and the same, only the persons in the scene were different.

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Whatever happens to you, it is predestined for you. And the combination of causes is from the very beginning related to your existence in the given circumstances.

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Meditate more often on the connections between all things and the mutual relations between them. Because they are all closely related to each other and therefore collaborate with each other, following each other in a certain order. This is explained by the permanence of movement, by the common harmony and unity of what is.

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Look deep, and let neither the quality of anything escape your sight, nor its price.

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You must once and for all put an end to the discussion of what a good man should be and simply...become one.

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The most persuasive arguments that we must always bear in mind are these two: the first consists in the fact that things themselves do not attract the soul, they are found outside of it, and our inclinations are solely due to our inner imagination. And the second is that everything you see changes so quickly that it ceases to exist. How many changes you yourself do not witness - constantly think about it. The world is change, life is sensation.

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And so, spend this moment, namely your life, in harmony with nature, and then part with life as easily as a ripe plum from the branch: praising nature and expressing your gratitude to the tree that gave you - gave life.

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The spider that has caught a fly is already proud of it; and another rejoices that he has caught a rabbit or a fish with a net, or a boar, or a bear, or the Sarmatians. Aren't these all robbers if we are to be clear about their starts?

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Imagine that you have already died, that you have lived only until the present moment, and the time that is left of your life, live it according to nature. Look at the past: how many changes the states have undergone! You can also predict the future. Because he is the same and does not go out of the rhythm of what is happening in the present moment. Therefore, it does not matter whether you observe human life for forty years or for ten thousand years. What's new for you to see?

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Let neither the despair of another, nor the triumph of another, divert you.

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The most important thing is that man docilely waits for death as a natural decay of those elements from which he is conceived. Because this behavior is in accordance with nature, and what is in accordance with nature cannot be bad.

"A small branch cut off from a big limb is separated from the whole tree. In the same way when a person is in an argument with another person, he is separated from all humanity."

"Why are you so afraid of change? Nothing in this world can be done without change. Only one rule should remain constant: do not do anything inhumane to others."

"A person’s soul may be compared to a transparent ball which is lit from the inside with its own light. This flame is not only the source of all light and truth, but it illuminates everything around you. In this state, the soul is free and happy. Only if it becomes addicted to anything outside you will it become troubled, darkened, and impenetrable. Distractions obstruct the light which shows you the way."

"The human soul, not by itself, but by some power, is pushed closer and closer to truth and goodness, and the better we understand this, the more humble we will be."

"The purpose of your life is not to do as the majority does, but to live according to the inner law which you understand in yourself. Do not act against your conscience or against truth. Live like this, and you will fulfill the task of your life."

"You should welcome everything which happens to you from birth to death, because the existence and the purpose of the world is in these cases."

"Pain is the necessary condition of our body, and suffering is the necessary condition of our spiritual life, from birth to death."

"I call this life a happy one in which I do one good deed after another, with no intervals between them."

"All the world is subject to one law, and all thinking beings have the same basic intellect. Therefore, all wise men share the same idea of perfection."

"Life is short. Do not forget about the most important things in our life, living for other people and doing good for them."

"I call spirit that part of man which has independent existence and gives us the understanding of life."

"There is only one law of life which is really precious: though you meet all the time with injustice, remain humble."

"We should always try to find those things which do not separate us from other people but which unite us. To work against each other, to bea ngry and turn your back on each other, is to work against nature."

"Understand that you are part of a great spiritual brotherhood; there is something cheering and soothing in the thought which will make you calm and satisfied."

"Remember that you are more free if you change your opinion and follow those who have corrected your mistakes, than if you are stubborn about your mistakes."

"You could die very quickly; but yet you have time to rid yourself of your passions. Be humble to everyone."

"Do you worry about the moment when you die? Our life is only a moment in eternity. Think and you will see that you have eternity behind you and before you, and between these two huge abysses, what difference does it make whether you live three days or three centuries?"

"Nothing is more harmful than a bad example set by others. They bring into our life notions which never would have occurred to us without an example. Do not allow yourself to be infected by the mood or spirit of those who abuse you; do not step onto their path."

"If you notice someone in error, then correct this person and his mistake in a humble way. If he does not listen to you, blame yourself only; or, even better, do not blame anybody, but continue to be humble."

"When you carry your burden, you should know that it is good for you to have it. Make the best of this burden and take from it everything which is necessary for your intellectual life, as your stomach takes from food everything necessary for your flesh, or as fire burns brighter after you put some wood on it."

"Try to live your life and be happy withy our destiny, acquiring inner peace by love and good deeds."

"You should live your life as if you are ready to say good-bye to it at any moment, as if the time left you is some pleasant surprise."

"Evil does not exist in material nature by itself, but evil exists for every person who understands goodness, and who has the freedom of choice between good and bad."

"A distinctive feature of a thinking person is submission to his fate, as opposed to the shameful struggle with it that is a characteristic feature of animals."

"Work all the time. Do not think that work is a disaster for you, and do not seek praise or reward for your work."

"Do not despair. Do not be disappointed if you see that you cannot accomplish all the good which you would like to accomplish. If you fall, try to stand up; try to overcome the obstacle before you. Get to the heart of the matter, to the essence of things."

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Don't scare yourself away from life by only imagining problems and troubles. Don't project what doesn't exist yet, and don't relive your past troubles.

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Stop arguing about what a good person should be, just be one.

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Accept the will of fate and love those whom fate guides in your path, with all your heart!

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Death itself is one of the tasks of life.

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What is important is not what they do to us, but what we do.

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Be good and don't expect a reward either on earth or in the afterlife. The eye does not expect reward for seeing, nor the foot for walking.

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There is no difference between an intellect that thinks correctly and one that operates in the spirit of justice.

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Neither the future nor the past weighs on you, but only the present.

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If you are sad for some external reason, the pain is not a consequence of the thing itself, but of the way you value the given thing; and you have the power to withdraw this evaluation at any moment.

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People were born for each other. Either teach them or tolerate them.

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It is man's prerogative to love: even the one who causes him suffering by doing so.

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Learn to smile. A smile has magical power. As long as you can smile, you can continue to fight. And whoever fights can win.

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What is death? The impressions mediated by the feelings, the excitement of the instincts, the wanderings of the intellect, and the service of the poor body have ceased to exist.

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In everything that causes you grief, remember the following principle: not only is what happened not a misfortune, but something that you can bear with your waist is downright lucky.

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Remember how much more you suffer from the anger and sorrow caused by certain things than from the root causes themselves.

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A man's life is what his thoughts make him.

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Do not think that what is weighing on you is humanly impossible. Rather, think of it as what is humanly possible and usual, you can achieve.

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You cannot make people happy according to your method, you must let them be happy or unhappy in their own way.

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It is not death that a man should fear, but that he never begins to live.

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Look inward, the wellspring of goodness springs up within you, and if you keep deepening it, it will keep growing!

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Death is like birth: a mysterious work of nature. The union of the same primitives into the same.

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Don't waste the rest of your life fantasizing about others, unless you are applying your thoughts to some public good. I'm sure, your other duty is taking its toll. Because if you worry about what the other person is doing, why they are doing it, what they are saying, what they want, what they are up to - all this will confuse you and distract you from the attentive service of your own controlling sense. So exclude from the circle of your thoughts all ideas, all futility, even more all vanity and malice.

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The body has sensations, the soul desires, the mind has principles.

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Nothing is bad that is according to nature.

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People look for hiding places: in the village, on the beach, in the mountains. You yourself used to want something like this. What a limitation! After all, you can do it whenever you want to retreat into yourself. Because a person cannot retreat anywhere more calmly and undisturbed than into his own soul, especially if his inner world is such that, upon looking into it, he is immediately filled with complete peace.

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If you do not think that you have been hurt, then you have not been hurt, and if you have not been hurt, then you have not suffered any harm.

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There is a person who, if he has done something good to his fellow man, is ready to pay his gratitude immediately. There are those who do not do this, but inwardly still consider the other a debtor, and are very aware of their good deeds. Others, on the other hand, do not consider what they have done at all, but are likened to a vine that produces a cluster, which, once it has borne its fruit, does not desire anything else. The benevolent man, like the horse when he ran, the dog when he came upon game, the bee when she gathered honey, does not beat his deed, but goes on with his blessed work, just as the vine, when the time is right, brings forth its fruit again. cluster.

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I am composed of formative force and matter; none perishes into nothingness, just as none came from nothingness. So every part of my being changes and thereby transforms into some part of the world, which changes again into another part of the world, and so on ad infinitum. I myself am the result of such a change, so are my descendants, and so on, all the way back to infinity. Because there is nothing to prevent us from speaking like this, even if the flow of the world is divided into fixed periods.

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Matter is an unceasingly flowing river; the activity of nature manifests itself in continuous change, the ultimate cause is hidden in a tangle of thousands and thousands of twists and turns. Almost nothing is permanent, and the bottomless, all-consuming depth of the past and future lies at our feet. How foolish would he be if he puffs up or frets or wails in such circumstances, as if something could cause discomfort, either for a while or more permanently.

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Everything that is material is quickly absorbed into the substance of everything. Everything that is a cause quickly dissolves into the universal cause. The memory of everything soon finds its grave in eternal time.

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For a rational being, natural and rational action are one and the same.

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The time is near when you will forget everything; the time is near when everything will forget you.

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Life is more like wrestling than dancing, because we have to be prepared and even unwavering in the face of all eventualities, even the unexpected.

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It is inherent in moral perfection that you live each day - without excitement, slackness, or pretense - as if it were your last.

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If some external phenomenon bothers you, it is not the phenomenon itself that worries you, but your judgment about it. And it depends only on you to eliminate this.

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It is often the one who does not do something who acts unjustly, not only the one who does something.

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A thrown stone is not bad when it falls, just as it was not good when it went up.

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Is someone looking down on me? It's his business! It is my job not to do or say anything that deserves scorn.

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The duration of human life is momentary; matter is variable, perception is vague; the composition of our entire body is easily perishable; the soul is rushing to and fro; fortune is unfathomable; reputation is uncertain. In a word: all physical things are rushing water, all spiritual phenomena are dreams and mists, life is a struggle and banishment, the praise of posterity is oblivion.

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You have to be straight, not flattened!

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Be a promontory, which is incessantly battered by the waves, but it stands unmoved, and the foaming maelstrom calms down around it. Don't worry about unfavorable wind conditions; rather be happy and live with a cheerful face - if the present doesn't break you, you don't have to fear the future either.

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Why do you call it bad luck when something bad happened to you? Think of it as luck - and it will be.

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Does what has happened to you prevent you from being thoughtful, just, generous, sober, discerning, faithful, pure, and free? Does it prevent you from walking the path as a whole person? About everything that caused you grief, remember: what happened did not bring misfortune into your life, in fact, quite the opposite: to bear the grief calmly, to silence it in your heart is downright lucky.

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Everything is just a human opinion - and your own opinion depends only on you. Eliminate your pride and fears before they mislead your mind and disrupt your life. So remove from your thoughts all prejudices that stand in the way of your righteous decisions and love, and you will be freed from everything. Who can stop you from doing this but yourself?

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Don't belittle death, rather accept it with a cheerful spirit as one of the things that happen according to the will of nature.

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Popular people depend on others for their happiness; the happiness of pleasure-seekers fluctuates with moods beyond their control; the happiness of the wise man, on the other hand, comes from actions performed by his free will.

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Investigate the controlling meaning of people and what they cost and what smart people are looking for.

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Benevolence is invincible when it is sincere, when there is no mockery or posturing. For what harm can even the most violent man do to you, if you are always benevolent with him, and - if the occasion calls for it - gently warn you, and if, just when something evil boils up against you, you calmly admonish him to better judgment like this: "No, my child, for something else we were born. You are not harming me, but yourself, child."

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Are cucumbers bitter? Throw it out. Is there a thornbush on the road? Avoid it. That's all you need to know.

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If circumstances force you to disturb the calmness of your soul, quickly withdraw into yourself and do not come out of your flow beyond the necessary extent. If you often escape to spiritual harmony, sooner or later you will completely acquire it.

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Objectivity now, in this moment. Selfless action now, in this moment. The willing acceptance of all external events now, in this moment. That's all a person needs.

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If it doesn't fit, don't do it! If it's not true, don't say it! The initiative should always be yours!

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I don't deserve to hurt myself, I who have never hurt anyone on purpose.

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In the morning, if it's hard for you to get up, think about it immediately: "I wake up to work like a human being. Would it be bad for me to start doing what I was born for, for which I came into the world? Or was I meant to warm myself by lying on my pillow? "Anyway, that's more enjoyable! "But were you born for enjoyment? In general, for inactivity, or for activity? Don't you see that the plants, the sparrows, the ants, the spiders, the bees do their part and contribute their part to the harmony of the world? And you do not want to fulfill your human duties? Do you not hurry towards the goal appointed by your nature?"

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Now listen here! Don't worry! Be simple! Does anyone sin? He is sinning against himself! Did something happen to you? No problem! Everything that is worthwhile, according to the law of the universe, has been done and determined for you from the beginning! Why so many words? Life is short. Use the present wisely, with truth.

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The Universe is one, consisting of all that exists: and in each of them there is one God, and one principle of existence, and one law, the common sense of all beings capable of thinking, and one truth.

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Death smiles on us all. One can't help but smile back.

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What is your essence is hidden within you with invisible threads... what is he? If you take a closer look, he is the inspirer of your actions, in other words: he is life itself, so to speak: Man.

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So get for yourself what depends entirely on you: be honest, dignified, work-oriented, don't seek pleasure, don't be dissatisfied with your lot, be content with little, benevolent, free, serious, unsolicited, generous. Don't you feel how much you could achieve, for which you can't use incompetence or lack of aptitude as an excuse? And you deliberately fall short of the standard? Does your lack of aptitude compel you to grumble, cling to life convulsively, to flatter yourself, to blame your physical condition for pleasing yourself, to be frivolous, to cause so much restlessness in your soul? No! God forbid! You could have removed all these mistakes a long time ago, and at most they could only accuse you of being slower and more difficult to understand. However, you have to help yourself with this with practice, and you should not condone this excuse, or even take pleasure in it.

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If things outside of your control hurt you, it's not them that bothers you, but your own judgment of them. And it is in your power to erase this judgment right now.

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Do nothing haphazardly, do nothing differently than according to the principle that perfectly fulfills the true art of life.

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If you are tempted by discomfort, if you are seized by anger or indignation, then try to escape from yourself and do not let the momentary impression dominate you, because otherwise you can easily lose your self-control. The more we practice regaining our mental peace with the help of our willpower, the stronger our ability to preserve this peace will be.

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How ridiculous the behavior of people! They regret the praise of their contemporaries, but how much they value it when their descendants praise them: the descendants they have not seen and will never see! It's almost like you're complaining that your predecessors didn't sing your praises.

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He who sins, sins against himself, and he who is unjust is unjust to himself, because he makes himself evil.

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Pain is nothing but the vivid imagination of pain: exert all your strength to change this imagination, cast it out of yourself, stop complaining, and the pain will cease.

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We are born to work together, like legs, hands, eyelashes or like upper and lower teeth. Enmity with one another is unnatural: it counts as enmity if we get annoyed or turn away from each other.

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A person cannot retreat anywhere more calmly and undisturbed than into his own soul.

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All your actions, words, and thoughts should be like those of someone who could leave life right away.

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If others scold, hate and express this, turn to their soul, look deep inside and see what people are like! Then you realize that you don't have to worry about their opinion of you.

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Don't forget that everyone lives only in the present, and this is a fleeting moment, the rest of time has either already passed or is uncertain.

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Of the truths you fix your eyes on, two should always be at hand. First, that external things do not have access to the soul, but are outside it, namely, motionless; therefore, all excitement comes from the inner perception. Second, that everything you see will soon change and even cease. Constantly think about how many changes you have already witnessed. The world is changing, life is a matter of perception.

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If you do what the moment calls for in a way that conforms to the rules of common sense, with zeal, determination, and peace of mind, if you look neither to the right nor to the left, but try to keep your genius as pure as if you had to give it back; if you don't even expect anything and don't tremble at anything: if you act in such a way that your activities are always in harmony with nature, and in all your words and utterances you are content with the truth reminiscent of heroic times, then you live happily. And no one can stop you from doing this.

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Don't live like you want to live another ten thousand years. The inevitable hovers over your head.

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He who does not know what the world is does not know where he is. He who does not know what he was born for does not know who he really is, nor what the world is. Anyone who neglects even one of these can't even tell his purpose. And now in what color does that person appear to you who runs away from the applause of people who don't even know where they are or who they are?

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What is not yours, do not think of it as if it were already yours, but choose the best from what you have now, and at the same time remember how much effort you would go after it if it were not there.

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Everything is just an opinion, and the opinion depends on you. Eliminate it when you see fit, and just like the man who rounded the promontory, you too will find calm, complete calm, a secure bay.

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The consequences of anger are much more serious than its causes.

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Don't talk about how to be a good person. Be it!

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If you have done good to your fellow man, what more do you want? Are you not satisfied with the fact that you have done something according to your nature, but you even want a reward for it? It is as if the eye asks for payment for seeing, and the foot for walking! Because just as these parts of the body were created to fulfill their specific task by functioning in accordance with their shape, so also man, who is actually born to do good, if he performed some salutary or public benefit activity, he only did what he was destined to do. And with that, he already got his reward.

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Nothing happens to anyone that they were not made to endure. The same thing happens to someone else, and either he doesn't even realize what happened to him, or he keeps his composure, bragging about his spiritual greatness. However, it would still be terrible if ignorance and self-interest prevailed more than insight.

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It is madness to pursue an impossibility; and it is impossible for wretched people to act otherwise.

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Everything came about through change. Accustom yourself to the idea that the nature of all things loves nothing so much as to change what is, and to create new things of the same kind.

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Everything lasts but one day: the glorification as well as the object of glorification.

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All that is beautiful, in whatever way it is, is beautiful in itself, complete in itself: the non-creative part of praise. Praise will make nothing worse or better. This also applies to things that are called beautiful in everyday life: materials, works of art. What is truly beautiful, does it need anything else? As little as law, justice, goodwill, or shame. Which one is beautiful because it is praised, or which one is harmed if it is denigrated? Will the emerald become more vile than it was if it is not praised? Or the gold, the ivory, the crimson, the sword, the flower, or the tender wood?

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Don't take things the way your ill-wisher perceives them, nor the way he wants you to perceive them! Take them as they really are.

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Everything that happens is done justly. If you observe closely, you will find out. I don't just say that according to a certain order, but that justly, even as if someone were to dispose according to merit.

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What does not make a person worse than he is, does not make his life worse, and does not harm him either externally or internally.

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If you find fault with someone, gently correct them and show them what they are doing wrong. And if your efforts are of no use, blame yourself, or - what is even better - don't blame anyone for it, but continue to be gentle.

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Yesterday a human germ, tomorrow an embalmed corpse or ashes.

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What a small part of the infinite and immeasurable time each person gets! How quickly this also disappears in the bottomless time! What a small part of the whole material! What a small fraction of the world's souls! And what a small lump of the whole earth you slide and climb! Think about all this... Think that what pulls you to and fro with invisible threads is hidden inside you...

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Is anyone afraid of change? But can something be created without change, is there something for common nature that is kinder and more familiar than it? Can you bathe if the firewood doesn't change, can you eat if the food doesn't change, can anything useful happen without change in general? Don't you see that the transformation of yourself is a similar thing, and also a necessary part of the order of common nature?