Marcus Aurelius

The best way to avenge yourself is to not be like that.

That which is not good for the hive, is not good for the bee.

Do not disturb yourself by imagining your whole life at once. Let each day's trouble be enough for that day.

To change your mind and to follow him who sets you right is to be none the less free than you were before.

The universal cause is a torrent. It sweeps everything along.

You are a little soul carrying around a corpse, as Epictetus used to say.

Because a thing is difficult for you, do not think that it is impossible for man.

The only thing that isn't worthless is to live this life out as yourself, and to make truth and justice your goal.

If someone is able to show me that I am making a mistake or thinking incorrectly, I will gladly change. For I seek the truth, by which no one has ever truly been harmed. It is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance who is harmed.

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.

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in that it requires a watchful stance against whatever comes first and unexpected.

It is in your power to withdraw yourself whenever you desire. Perfect tranquility consists in the good ordering of the mind, the realm of your own.

Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant; all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or future and uncertain.

If you are pained by any external thing, 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.

Every moment of your life is a gift from God. Use it wisely.

Do not disturb yourself by picturing your life as a whole; do not embrace in your imagination all the various troubles which are likely to happen to you, but in every present incident ask yourself, 'What is there in this that is intolerable and beyond endurance?'

The true man of honor is he who is always the same, and always good.

Remember that to change your opinion and to follow him who corrects your error is as consistent with freedom as it is to persist in your error.

The only thing that isn't worthless is to live this life out as yourself, and to make truth and justice the end of every action. That's the only way to make your life count.

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.