Meditations quotes by Marcus Aurelius:
Introduction
Marcus Aurelius, born on April 26, 121 AD, was a Roman Emperor and a stoic philosopher.
His reign from 161 to 180 AD is considered one of the most prosperous and peaceful periods in Roman history, earning him recognition as one of the “Five Good Emperors.”
Despite his royal duties, Aurelius found solace in philosophy.
His personal philosophical notes, posthumously published as “Meditations,” provide an unprecedented insight into the mind of a Roman Emperor.
His thoughts, primarily influenced by Stoicism, focus on understanding one’s place in the universe, accepting things as they come, and striving for virtue above all else.
Marcus Aurelius’ teachings continue to resonate today, offering timeless wisdom for those seeking inner peace and clarity in their lives.
100 Meditations Quotes By Marcus Aurelius:
#1 “It is in your power to withdraw yourself whenever you desire. Perfect tranquility within consists in the good ordering of the mind, the realm of your own.”
#2 “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.”
#3 “Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.”
#4 “Dig within. Within is the wellspring of good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.”
#5 “Confine yourself to the present.”
#6 “In your actions, don’t procrastinate. In your conversations, don’t confuse. In your thoughts, don’t wander. In your soul, don’t be passive or aggressive. In your life, don’t be all about business.”
#7 “Meditate upon what you ought to be in body and soul when death overtakes you; meditate on the brevity of life, and the measureless gulf of eternity behind it and before, and upon the frailty of everything material.”
#8 “A good man does not spy around for the black spots in others, but presses unswervingly on towards his mark.”
#9 “Death is a cessation from the impression of the senses, the tyranny of the passions, the errors of the mind, and the servitude of the body.”
#10 “The Stoic discovers the model for his virtuous conduct in studying the laws of nature; just as each object, plant, and animal serves its fated role in the larger order, so the human strives to steer his actions in accordance with his unique power, reason, his inner mirror of the logos that governs the universe.”
#11 “All is change. You yourself are continuously changing and being destroyed bit by bit. So is the whole universe.”
#12 “The present moment is the only thing of which anyone can be deprived, at least if this is the only thing he has and he cannot lose what he has not got.”
#13 “No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be good.”
#14 “If you’re honest and straightforward and mean well, it should show in your eyes. It should be unmistakable.”
#15 “When you start to lose your temper, remember: There’s nothing manly about rage. It’s courtesy and kindness that define a human being—and a man.”
#16 “No one loses any other life than the one he now lives, nor does one live any other life than that which he will lose.”
#17 “Pride is a master of deception: when you think you’re occupied in the weightiest business, that’s when he has you in his spell.”
#18 “In a little while, you will have forgotten everything; in a little while, everything will have forgotten you.”
#19 “Since it is possible that you might depart from life this very moment, regulate every act and thought accordingly.”
#20 “And why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice!”
#21 “People who labor all their lives but have no purpose to direct every thought and impulse toward are wasting their time—even when hard at work.”
#22 “As far as you can, get into the habit of asking yourself in relation to any action taken by another: “What is his point of reference here?” But begin with yourself: examine yourself first.”
#23 “That which is really beautiful has no need of anything; not more than law, not more than truth, not more than benevolence or modesty.”
#24 “Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.”
#25 “Observe always that everything is the result of change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and make new ones like them.”
#26 “Give your heart to the trade you have learnt, and draw refreshment from it.”
#27 “Disgraceful for the soul to give up when the body is still going strong.”
#28 “Everything of the body is a river. Everything of the soul is dream and vapour. Life is war and the abode of a stranger. The only fame after death is oblivion.”
#29 “Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.”
#30 “Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been.”
#31 “The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
#32 “All men are made one for another: either then teach them better or bear with them.”
#33 “Perfection of character: to live your last day, every day, without frenzy, or sloth, or pretense.”
#34 “Mastery of reading and writing requires a master. Still more so life.”
#35 “No matter how good a life you lead, you won’t please everyone. Someone will be glad to see you go.”
#36 “Give up your thirst for books, so that you do not die a grouch.”
#37 “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.”
#38 “In an expression of true gratitude, sadness is conspicuous only by its absence”
#39 “Be your own master, and look at things as a man, as a human being, as a citizen, as a mortal creature.”
#40 “No man is happy who does not think himself so.”
#41 “The memory of everything is very soon overwhelmed in time.”
#42 “Nothing is more scandalous than a man that is proud of his humility.”
#43 “It is a ridiculous thing for a man not to fly from his own badness, which is indeed possible, but to fly from other men’s badness, which is impossible.”
#44 “Look to nothing, not even for a moment except to reason.”
#45 “Everything is banal in experience, fleeting in duration, sordid in content; in all respects the same today as generations now dead and buried have found it to be.”
#46 “It is within our power not to make a judgement about something, and so not disturb our minds; for nothing in itself possesses the power to form our judgements.”
#47 “All things fade and quickly turn to myth.”
#48 “When men are inhuman, take care not to feel towards them as they do towards other humans.”
#49 “Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish.”
#50 “Observe the movements of the stars as if you were running their courses with them, and let your mind constantly dwell on the changes of the elements into each other. Such imaginings wash away the filth of life on the ground.”
#51 “A wrongdoer is often a man who has left something undone, not always one who has done something.”
#52 “Do not think that what is hard for you to master is humanly impossible; and if it is humanly possible, consider it to be within your reach.”
#53 “Death is a release from the impressions of the senses, and from desires that make us their puppets, and from the vagaries of the mind, and from the hard service of the flesh.”
#54 “A man must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.”
#55 “The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in so far as it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall.”
#56 “Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it.”
#57 “If you are pained by external things, it is not they that disturb you, but your own judgement of them. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgement now.”
#58 “Whoever does wrong, wrongs himself; whoever does injustice, does it to himself, making himself evil.”
#59 “Regain your senses, call yourself back, and once again wake up. Now that you realize that only dreams were troubling you, view this ‘reality’ as you view your dreams.”
#60 “Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to throw away. Death stands at your elbow. Be good for something while you live and it is in your power.”
#61 “Do what you will. Even if you tear yourself apart, most people will continue doing the same things.”
#62 “Humans have come into being for the sake of each other, so either teach them, or learn to bear them.”
#63 “Whatever anyone does or says, I must be emerald and keep my colour.”
#64 “Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil.”
#65 “It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.”
#66 “How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life”
#67 “The things you think about determine the quality of your mind.”
#68 “If any man despises me, that is his problem. My only concern is not doing or saying anything deserving of contempt.”
#69 “Receive without conceit, release without struggle.”
#70 “Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.”
#71 “A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.”
#72 “Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life.”
#73 “The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.”
#74 “Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.”
#75 “For it is in your power to retire into yourself whenever you choose.”
#76 “Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future too.”
#77 “Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretence.”
#78 “Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.”
#79 “Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.”
#80 “What we do now echoes in eternity.”
#81 “How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy.”
#82 “Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.”
#83 “Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now, take what’s left and live it properly. What doesn’t transmit light creates its own darkness.”
#84 “The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.”
#85 “How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.”
#86 “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
#87 “The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.”
#88 “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking.”
#89 “The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”
#90 “If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.”
#91 “Our life is what our thoughts make it.”
#92 “Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
#93 “Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together,but do so with all your heart.”
#94 “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
#95 “The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.”
#96 “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”
#97 “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”
#98 “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
#99 “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
#100 “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
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As a founder and chief author at InsightState.com, Bulgarea Candin helps readers on their spiritual journeys. His writings are designed to inspire creativity and personal growth, guiding readers on their journey to a more fulfilled and enlightened life.