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Marcus Aurelius Quotes
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If thou workest at that which is before thee... expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to Nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which thou utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this.
Marcus Aurelius
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Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do. Self-indulgence means tying it to the things that happen to you. Sanity means tying it to your own actions.
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Be cheerful, also, and seek not external help, nor the peace which others give. A man must stand straight, and not be kept straight by others.
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Not even the vicissitudes of fortune are contrary to nature or to the providential ordering of the universe. It all flows from the gods, who determine what is needed for the welfare of the whole universe, of which you are a part.
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Consider when thou art much vexed or grieved, that man's life is only a moment, and after a short time we are all laid out dead.
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The gods have provided me with clear and compelling signs of what it means to live in conformity to nature. They did their part. So far as their gifts, aid, and inspiration are concerned, nothing prevented me from following the path prescribed by nature. If from time to time I have strayed from this path, the fault lies with me and with my failure to heed the gods' signs, or rather, their explicit instructions.
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This is enough. Do not add, And why were such things made in the world?
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If it's time for you to go, leave willingly - as you would to accomplish anything that can be done with grace and honor.
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Cultivate these, then, for they are wholly within your power: sincerity and dignity; industriousness; and sobriety. Avoid grumbling, be frugal, considerate, and frank; be temperate in manner and speech; carry yourself with authority.
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Be satisfied with your business, and learn to love what you were bred to.
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If anyone can refute me-show me I'm making a mistake or looking at things from the wrong perspective-I'l l gladly change. It's the truth I'm after, and the truth never harmed anyone. What harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.
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Reflect often upon the rapidity with which all existing things, or things coming into existence, sweep past us and are carried away.
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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.
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A good man does not spy around for the black spots in others, but presses unswervingly on towards his mark.
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Just as nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it--turns it to its purposes, incorporates it into itself, so, too, a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve its goal.
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Reflect frequently upon the instability of things, and how very fast the scenes of nature are shifted. Matter is in perpetual flux. Change is always and everywhere at work; it strikes through causes and effects, and leaves nothing fixed and permanent.
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The only thing that isn't worthless: to live this life out truthfully and rightly, And be patience with those who don't.
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A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all - that is myself.
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When you have been compelled by circumstances to be disturbed in any manner, quickly return to yourself, and do not continue out of tune longer than the compulsion lasts. You will have increasing control over your own harmony by continually returning to it.
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Be like the rocky headland on which the waves constantly break. It stands firm, and round it the seething waters are laid to rest.
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In reading and writing, you cannot lay down rules until you have learnt to obey them. Much more so in life.
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Stop whatever you're doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won't be able to do this anymore?
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Consider in what condition both in body and soul a man should be when he is overtaken by death; and consider the shortness of life, the boundless abyss of time past and future, the feebleness of all matter.
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Persuade me or prove to me that I am mistaken in thought or deed, and I will gladly change - for it is the truth I seek, and the truth never harmed anyone. Harm comes from persisting in error and clinging to ignorance.
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All things from eternity are of like forms and come round in circle.
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Quote of the day
Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force.
Dorothy L. Sayers
Marcus Aurelius
Creative Commons
Born:
April 26, 121
Died:
March 17, 180
(aged 58)
Bio:
Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. Marcus Aurelius was the last of the so-called Five Good Emperors.
Known for:
Meditations (180 AD)
Most used words:
man
life
nature
time
thyself
mind
art
live
soul
universe
power
change
thoughts
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