100+ Timeless Marcus Aurelius Quotes for Inspiration and Wisdom
Marcus Aurelius, the esteemed Roman Emperor and philosopher, continues to inspire generations with his Meditations, a series of personal writings that delve into Stoic philosophy. His reflections on self-discipline, wisdom, and human nature offer enduring wisdom applicable to various life scenarios. This piece showcases a collection of Marcus Aurelius quotes organized under ten themes, each highlighting aspects of personal growth, resilience, and introspection. These quotes are intended to resonate with modern audiences seeking guidance and inspiration on their journey through life. Whether facing adversity or cultivating inner peace, there's a quote here that speaks to every instance, providing clarity and wisdom drawn from one of history's notable philosophical minds.
"You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts."
"When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love."
"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live."
"Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one."
"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts."
"He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe."
"No man is happy who does not think himself so."
"If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it."
"Our life is what our thoughts make it."
"To live happily is an inward power of the soul."
"Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions."
"Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears."
"The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury."
"Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature's delight."
"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way."
"Nothing happens to any man that he is not formed by nature to bear."
"Objective judgment, now, at this very moment. Unselfish action, now, at this very moment. Willing acceptance, now, at this very moment, of all external events. That's all you need."
"Wherever a man can live, he can also live well."
"Do not whine, but find a way to endure."
"The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it."
"How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it."
"When another blames you or hates you, or people voice similar criticisms, go to their souls, penetrate inside and see what sort of people they are. You will realize that there is no need to be racked with anxiety that they should hold any particular opinion about you."
"Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look."
"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."
"Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away."
"Humans have come into being for the sake of each other, so either teach them, or learn to bear them."
"The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing."
"If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth by which no one was ever truly harmed. The one who is truly harmed is the one who persists in his self-deception and ignorance."
"Give not up on your dreams, what should be shall be!"
"By a tranquil mind, I mean nothing else than a mind well ordered."
"To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions."
"The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious."
"Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are and to make new things like them."
"Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now, take what's left and live it properly."
"Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil."
"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one."
"Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul."
"Let men see, let them know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live."
"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."
"Receive without conceit, release without struggle."
"Nothing happens to any man what nature has not fitted him to endure."
"A man should be upright, not be kept upright."
"What we do now echoes in eternity."
"How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life."
"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking."
"Be content with what you are, and wish not change; nor dread your last day, nor long for it."
"Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live."
"When you are distressed by an external thing, it is not the thing itself that troubles you, but only your judgment of it. And you can wipe this out at a moment's notice."
"Confine yourself to the present."
"Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good."
"Consider that before long thou wilt be nobody and nowhere, nor will any of the things exist which thou now seest, nor any of those who are now living. Nature is changing into that which is not, and the things in it are in flux, so that nothing of that which is now subsists."
"Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future too."
"Meditate often on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the universe."
"Were you to always practice kindness, goodness would be habitual."
"Walk the path of truth by not allowing anyone to mislead you into giving way to your selfish nature."
"The tranquility that comes when you stop caring what they say. Or think, or do. Only what you do."
"If you seek tranquility, do less. Or more accurately, do what's essential—what the logo of a social being requires, and in the requisite way. This brings a double satisfaction: to do less, better."
"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."
"You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you cannot control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone."
"Your life is an expression of all your thoughts."
"Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them."
"Perfection of character: to live your last day, every day, without frenzy, or sloth, or pretense."
"Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig."
"Everything that happens happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so."
"Receive wealth or prosperity without arrogance; and be ready to let it go."
"Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man—yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes."
"Each day provides its own gifts."
"He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and collected."
"How much time he saves who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks."
"Whatever the universal nature assigns to any man at any time is for the good of that man at that time."
"A person should know how many talents they're being led by and be sure to harness them."
"Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil."
"Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul."
"Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life."
"The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it."
"Failure or success, whatever comes is the fruit of our actions."
"To refrain from imitation is the best revenge."
"What is not good for the beehive, cannot be good for the bees."
"A man should be upright, not be kept upright."
"Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good."
"A ruinous heart has escaped ruin by living a life of virtue."
"Glorify your life's path by walking it as you'd want to leave it."
"The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury."
"Who harms himself, harms not others."
"Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself."
"Nature does not wax indignant, and wherever you go, you must have been about to go."
"It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish are enslaved by them."
"Who approaches life with a light heart leaves it the same."
"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live."
"Let each thing you would do, say, or intend, be like that of a dying person, embracing limitation"
"Never regard something as doing you good if it makes you betray a trust, or lose your sense of shame, or makes you show that you want things that we cannot afford to desire."
"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."
"The abuse of other people does not make you a better person yourself."
"To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony."
"Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish."
"Accept what is given."
"Let Fate find you ready."
"If you are pained by any external things, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out this judgment now."
"Love only what happens; what was destined. No greater harmony."
"Accept the things to which fate binds you."
"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."
"Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live."
"When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they cannot tell good from evil."
"No great thing is created suddenly any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen."
"If it is enduring, then endure it. Stop complaining."
"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."
"To live happily is an inward power of the soul."
"Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one."
"You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."
"When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love."
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts."
"When another blames you or hates you, or people voice similar criticisms, go to their souls, penetrate inside and see what sort of people they are. You will realize that there is no need to be racked with anxiety that they should hold any particular opinion about you."
"If you are pained by any external things, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out this judgment now."
"Receive without conceit, release without struggle."
"When men are inhuman, take care not to feel towards them as they do towards other humans."
"What we do now echoes in eternity."
"Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect."
"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts."
"Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul."
