Quotes from Marcus Aurelius

The most noble thing is to be yourself.

There is a river of creation, and time is a violent stream. As soon as one thing comes into sight, it is swept past and another is carried down: it too will be taken on its way.

There is nothing more shameful than perfidious friendship.

When near his death, being asked by the tribune for the watchword, he said, Go to the rising sun, for I am setting.

The best revenge is to be unlike your enemy.

It isn't manly to be enraged. Rather gentleness and civility are more human, therefrom more manly.

From Alexander the Platonist, not to say to anyone often or without necessity, nor write in a letter, I am too busy, nor in this fashion constantly plead urgent affairs as an excuse for evading the obligations entailed upon us by our relations towards those around us.

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

Thou art a little soul bearing about a corpse

You are not compelled to form any opinion about this matter before you, nor to disturb your peace of mind at all. Things in themselves have no power to extort a verdict from you.

All things fade and quickly turn to myth: quickly too utter oblivion drowns them. And I am talking of those who shone with some wonderful brilliance: the rest, once they have breathed their last, are immediately 'beyond sigh, beyond knowledge'. But what in any case is everlasting memory? Utter emptiness.

Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just. Then they will not care how devout you have been. But will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods then you will be gone but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of the loves ones.