Marcus Aurelius

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.

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.

Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.

The soul that companies with virtue rejoices with invincible joy; who ever reflects on that which is ordered by nature rejoices unblamably.

Natural inclination is within us like a spring; the more it is hidden, the more it pushes up.

The perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretense.

Be like the rock against which the waves continually break; it is its nature to stand firm, and by resisting it breaks up the waves.

Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.

The universe is transformation: life is opinion.

Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them.

What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears.

Remember that to change thy opinion and to follow him who sets thee right is to be as truly a man of free spirit as to hold fast thy opinion.

Dig within. Within is the wellspring of good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.

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. It is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance who is harmed.

It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.

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 then realize that there is no need to be ruffled.

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 can't control. There is always a choice. And if something seems too hard, then seek assistance, don't feel it necessary to tackle it all by yourself.

Concentrate every minute like a Roman - like a man - on doing what's in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice. And on freeing yourself from all other distractions.

No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself.