Quotes from Marcus Aurelius

How plain does it appear that there is not another condition of life so well suited for philosophising as this in which thou now happenest to be.

Remember, that to change thy mind upon occasion, and to follow him that is able to rectify thee, is equally ingenuous, as to find out at the first, what is right and just, without help. For of thee nothing is required, ti, is beyond the extent of thine own deliberation and jun. merit, and of thine own understanding.

that everything has always been the same, and keeps recurring, and it makes no difference whether you see the same things recur in a hundred years or two hundred, or in an infinite period; ii. that the longest-lived and those who will die soonest lose the same thing. The present is all that they can give up, since that is all you have, and what you do not have, you cannot lose.

He that knoweth not what the world is, knoweth not where he himself is. And he that knoweth not what the world was made for, cannot possibly know either what are the qualities, or what is the nature of the world.

When thou art offended with any man's shameless conduct, immediately ask thyself, Is it possible then that such men should not be in the world? It is not possible. Do not then require what is impossible. ... For at the same time that thou dost remind thyself that it is impossible that such kind of men should not exist, thou wilt become more kindly disposed towards every one individually.

Indeed, no one can thwart the purposes of your mind—for they can't be touched by fire, steel, tyranny, slander, or anything.

You'll find that none of the people who make you lose your temper has done anything that might affect your mind for the worse; and outside of the mind there's nothing that is truly detrimental or harmful for you… After all, you even had the resources, in the form of your ability to think rationally, to appreciate that he was likely to commit that fault, yet you forgot it and are now surprised that he did exactly that.

I will not allow things outside my mind to affect my mind. I will not let external events shake and shatter my inner peace. I will not waste my energy on things outside my control

He blind, who cannot see with the eyes of his understanding.

Everyone gets one life. Yours is almost used up, and instead of treating yourself with respect, you have entrusted your own happiness to the souls of others.

Dig deep within yourself, for there is a fountain of goodness ever ready to flow if you will keep digging.

Be the stone cliff against which the waves constantly break, standing firm against the fury of the sea.