90 Marcus Aurelius Quotes

Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher, remains a source of timeless wisdom and insight through his meditations and writings. Looking for the famous Marcus Aurelius Quotes and Sayings? Here are best Marcus Aurelius Quotes to inspire and enlighten you.

Marcus Aurelius Quotes

1. “You can commit injustice by doing nothing.” – Marcus Aurelius

2. “Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to live… while you have life in you, while you still can, make yourself good.” – Marcus Aurelius

3. “Don’t be overheard complaining… Not even to yourself.” – Marcus Aurelius

4. “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” – Marcus Aurelius
5. “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” – Marcus Aurelius
6. “It is not events that disturb people, it is their judgements concerning them.” – Marcus Aurelius
7. “The best answer to anger is silence.” – Marcus Aurelius
8. “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
9. “The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.” – Marcus Aurelius
10. “The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius
11. “Receive without conceit, release without struggle.” – Marcus Aurelius
12. “If any man despises me, that is his problem. My only concern is not doing or saying anything deserving of contempt.” – Marcus Aurelius
13. “Life is short. That’s all there is to say. Get what you can from the present – thoughtfully, justly.” – Marcus Aurelius
14. “How soon will time cover all things, and how many it has covered already.” – Marcus Aurelius
15. “Remember: Matter. How tiny your share of it. Time. How brief and fleeting your allotment of it. Fate. How small a role you play in it.” – Marcus Aurelius
16. “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.” – Marcus Aurelius
17. “To live a good life: We have the potential for it. If we can learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference.” – Marcus Aurelius
18. “When someone is properly grounded in life, they shouldn’t have to look outside themselves for approval.” – Marcus Aurelius
19. “He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and collected.” – Marcus Aurelius
20. “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” – Marcus Aurelius
21. “If someone responds to insult like a rock, what has the abuser gained with his invective?” – Marcus Aurelius
22. “Stick to what’s in front of you – idea, action, utterance.” – Marcus Aurelius
23. “Do not be perturbed, for all things are according to the nature of the universal; and in a little time you will be nobody and nowhere.” – Marcus Aurelius
24. “Let not your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you have already.” – Marcus Aurelius
25. “To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony.” – Marcus Aurelius
26. “Objective judgement, 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.” – Marcus Aurelius
27. “You’re subject to sorrow, fear, jealousy, anger and inconsistency. That’s the real reason you should admit that you are not wise.” – Marcus Aurelius
28. “Stop honouring externals, quit turning yourself into the tool of mere matter, or of people who can supply you or deny you those material things.” – Marcus Aurelius
29. “How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life.” – Marcus Aurelius
30. “As the same fire assumes different shapes when it consumes objects differing in shape, so does the one self take the shape of every creature in whom he is present.” – Marcus Aurelius
31. “A man when he has done a good act, does not call out for others to come and see, but he goes on to another act, as a vine goes on to produce again the grapes in season.” – Marcus Aurelius
32. “Receive without pride, let go without attachment.” – Marcus Aurelius
33. “Each of us needs what nature gives us, when nature gives it.” – Marcus Aurelius
34. “I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.” – Marcus Aurelius
35. “Be content with what you are, and wish not change; nor dread your last day, nor long for it.” – Marcus Aurelius
36. “In a word, if there is a god, all is well; and if chance rules, do not also be governed by it.” – Marcus Aurelius
37. “Treat whatever happens as wholly natural; not novel or hard to deal with; but familiar and easily handled.” – Marcus Aurelius
38. “So I look for the best and am prepared for the opposite.” – Marcus Aurelius
39. “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” – Marcus Aurelius
40. “Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions – not outside.” – Marcus Aurelius
41. “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.” – Marcus Aurelius
42. “If it’s not right, don’t do it. If it’s not true, don’t say it.” – Marcus Aurelius
43. “Nothing natural is evil.” – Marcus Aurelius
44. “Confine yourself to the present.” – Marcus Aurelius
45. “Straight, not straightened.” – Marcus Aurelius
46. “Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time.” – Marcus Aurelius
47. “To live happily is an inward power of the soul.” – Marcus Aurelius
48. “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius
49. “The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.” – Marcus Aurelius
50. “A rock is thrown in the air. It loses nothing by coming down, gained nothing by going up.” – Marcus Aurelius
51. “Do every act of your life as if it were your last.” – Marcus Aurelius
52. “To accept without arrogance, to let it go with indifference.” – Marcus Aurelius
53. “Each day provides its own gifts.” – Marcus Aurelius
54. “Anger cannot be dishonest.” – Marcus Aurelius
55. “Someone despises me. That’s their problem.” – Marcus Aurelius
56. “Nothing should be done without a purpose.” – Marcus Aurelius
57. “Even the smallest thing should be done with reference to an end.” – Marcus Aurelius
58. “What is your art? To be good.” – Marcus Aurelius
59. “Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.” – Marcus Aurelius
60. “Give yourself a gift: the present moment.” – Marcus Aurelius
61. “Glory’s an empty, changeable thing, as fickle as the weather.” – Marcus Aurelius
62. “A man should be upright, not be kept upright.” – Marcus Aurelius
63. “Nothing happens to anyone that he can’t endure.” – Marcus Aurelius
64. “Keep at it… As a blazing fire takes whatever you throw on it, and makes it light and flame.” – Marcus Aurelius
65. “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” – Marcus Aurelius
66. “Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.” – Marcus Aurelius
67. “What illusion about myself do I entertain? Marcus Aurelius
68. “The first step: Don’t be anxious. Nature controls it all.” – Marcus Aurelius
69. “The second step: Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your task is to be a good human being; remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But with kindness. With humility. Without hypocrisy.” – Marcus Aurelius
70. “So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands? Marcus Aurelius
71. “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” – Marcus Aurelius
72. “Take the shortest route, the one that nature planned – to speak and act in the healthiest way. Do that, and be free of pain and stress, free of all calculation and pretention.” – Marcus Aurelius
73. “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.” – Marcus Aurelius
74. “There were two vices much blacker and more serious than the rest: lack of persistence and lack of self-control… persist and resist.” – Marcus Aurelius
75. “No random actions, none not based on underlying principles.” – Marcus Aurelius
76. “If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.” – Marcus Aurelius
77. “Look within. Within is the foundation of good, and it will ever bubble up, if you will ever dig.” – Marcus Aurelius
78. “Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.” – Marcus Aurelius
79. “Almost nothing material is needed for a happy life, for he who has understood existence.” – Marcus Aurelius
80. “People with a strong physical constitution can tolerate extremes of hot and cold; people of strong mental health can handle anger, grief, joy and the other emotions.” – Marcus Aurelius
81. “It is in your power to live here. But if men do not permit you, then get away out of life, as if you were suffering no harm. The house is smoky, and I quit it. Why do you think that this is any trouble? But so long as nothing of the kind drives me out, I remain, am free, and no man shall hinder me from doing what I choose; and I choose to do what is according to the nature of the rational and social animal.” – Marcus Aurelius
82. “Have I been made for this, to lie under the blankets and keep myself warm? Marcus Aurelius
83. “Who exactly are these people that you want to be admired by? Aren’t they the same people you are in the habit of calling crazy? And is this your life ambition, then – to win the approval of lunatics? – Marcus Aurelius
84. “Do you have reason? I have. Why then do you not use it? – Marcus Aurelius
85. “He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those who remember him will himself also die very soon.” – Marcus Aurelius
86. “Let us overlook many things in those who are like antagonists in the gymnasium. For it is in our power, as I said, to get out of the way and to have no suspicion or hatred.” – Marcus Aurelius
87. “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.” – Marcus Aurelius
88. “Begin – to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished.” – Marcus Aurelius
89. “To do harm is to do yourself harm. To do an injustice is to do yourself an injustice.” – Marcus Aurelius
90. “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.” – Marcus Aurelius