From Apollonius I learned freedom of will and undeviating steadiness of purpose; and to look to nothing else, not even for a moment, except to reason. Marcus Aurelius More Quotes by Marcus Aurelius More Quotes From Marcus Aurelius But if anything in thy own dispositiongives thee pain, who hinders thee from correcting thy opinion? And even if thou art pained because thou art not doing some particular thing which seems to thee to be right, why dost thou not rather act than complain?- But some insuperable obstacle is in the way?- Do not be grieved then, for the cause of its not being done depends not on thee.- But it is not worth while to live if this cannot be done.- Take thy departure then from life contentedly, just as he dies who is in full activity, and well pleased too with the things which are obstacles. Marcus Aurelius paincomplainingart All things are in the act of change; thou thyself in ceaseless transformation and partial decay, and the whole universe with thee. Marcus Aurelius decaytransformationthee Try to live the life of the good man who is more than content with what is allocated to him. Marcus Aurelius good-manlive-lifemen When you have done a good deed that another has had the benefit of, why do you need a third reward-as fools do-praise for having done well or looking for a favor in return. Marcus Aurelius benefitsdoneneeds The perfection of moral character consists in this, in passing every day as the last, and in being neither violently excited nor torpid nor playing the hypocrite. Marcus Aurelius hypocriteperfectioncharacter It is the act of a madman to pursue impossibilities . Marcus Aurelius impossibilitypursuemadmen It is not fit that I should give myself pain, for I have never intentionally given pain even to another. Marcus Aurelius fitpaingiving It's time you realized that you have something in you more powerful and miraculous than the things that affect you and make you dance like a puppet. Marcus Aurelius miraculouspuppetspowerful If you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable. Marcus Aurelius lastsselfmind Why should a man have any apprehension about the change and dissolution of all the elements? For it is according to nature, and nothing is evil which is according to nature. Marcus Aurelius shouldevilmen Death and life, success and failure, pain and pleasure, wealth and poverty, all these happen to good and bad alike, and they are neither noble nor shameful - and hence neither good nor bad. Marcus Aurelius life-and-deathnoblepain Since it is possible that thou mayest depart from life this very moment, regulate every act and thought accordingly. But to go away from among men, if there are gods, is not a thing to be afraid of, for the gods will not involve thee in evil; but if indeed they do not exist, or if they have no concern about human affairs, what is it to me to live in a universe devoid of gods or devoid of Providence? But Gods there are, undoubtedly, and they regard human affairs; and have put it wholly in our power, that we should not fall into what is truly evil. Marcus Aurelius evilmenfall It's normal to feel pain in your hands and feet, if you're using your feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for a human being to feel stress is normal - if he's living a normal life. And if it's normal, how can it be bad? Marcus Aurelius stresspainhands When men are inhuman, take care not to feel towards them as they do towards other humans. Marcus Aurelius carefeelsmen Just consider, my friend, whether a pure spirit and virtue are anything other than saving your life and being saved. Perhaps we need to discard the idea of longevity and cease loving this life, instead committing these things to God and, believing that no one ever escapes destiny, to consider, with that in mind, how we may live the best possible life in the time that remains. Marcus Aurelius destinylifebelieve From the philosopher Catulus, never to be dismissive of a friend's accusation, even if it seems unreasonable, but to make every effort to restore the relationship to its normal condition. Marcus Aurelius philosophereffortnormal Nothing befalls any man which he is not fitted to endure. Marcus Aurelius endureendurancemen Do not suffer a sudden impression to overbear your judgment. Marcus Aurelius judgmentimpressionsuffering Do not expect Plato's ideal republic; be satisfied with even the smallest step forward, and consider this no small achievement. Marcus Aurelius republicachievementplato To her who gives and takes back all, to nature, the man who is instructed and modest says, Give what thou wilt; take back what thou wilt. And he says this not proudly, but obediently and well pleased with her. Marcus Aurelius give-and-takegivingmen
