Marcus Aurelius Quotes
1255 quotes
Marcus Aurelius
Roman emperor's personal reflections on Stoic philosophy and leadership
1255 Quotes
It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live
— Meditations, Book XII
Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself
— Meditations, Book 5
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
— Meditations, Book VI
The blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it
— Meditations, Book 4
At every moment keep a sturdy mind on the task in hand, as a Roman and a man, in order to accomplish it with strict and unaffected dignity, goodwill, independence, and justice.
— Meditations, Book 2.5
Take care not to be Caesarified, or dyed with the purple, for such things do happen
— Meditations, Book VI.30
In all that you do, let there be nothing done at random, nor without a purpose
— Meditations, Book IV, 2
Consider, for example, the times of Vespasian. You will see all these people busy, thinking of something, and then subsequently all is turned to ashes. Pass on to the times of Trajan, and again, all is dead and buried after a little while
— Meditations, Book IV, 32
If you are honest and straightforward, you will have nothing to fear from anyone
— Meditations, Book VI.58
Let not future things disturb you, for you will come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with you the same reason which now you use for present things
— Meditations, Book 7.8
Frequently consider the connection of all things in the Universe
— Meditations, Book 6.38
Do not let your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you have already
— Meditations, Book 7.27
At every action, no matter how small, stop and ask yourself, ‘Is this what a good man would do?’
— Meditations, Book III
When you have assumed these names—good, modest, truthful, rational, a man of equanimity, and magnanimous—take care that you do not change these names; and if you should lose them, quickly return to them
— Meditations 10.8
Remember this: very little is needed to make a happy life
— Meditations, Book VII
Don't waste what remains of your life in speculating about your neighbors, unless with a view to some mutual benefit. Suppose you are often forgetting exactly what your mind should be fixed on
— Meditations, Book 3.4
If a thing is difficult for you to accomplish, do not think it impossible for any man; rather, if something is possible and proper to man, believe that you can attain it too
— Meditations, Book 6
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it
— Meditations, Book XI, 18
Look at the essence of a thing, not its outward appearance
— Meditations, Book 6.3
What is divine deserves our affection because it is good; what is human deserves our affection because it is like us
— Meditations, Book 3.16
Death smiles at us all; all a man can do is smile back
— Meditations, Book II
When you have done a good act and another has had the benefit of it, why do you still look, as fools do, for a third thing besides?
— Meditations, Book VII
All things fade into the storied past, and soon are covered by oblivion
— Meditations, Book 7
From my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and the government of my temper
— Meditations, Book I
A wrongdoer is often a man who has left something undone, not always one who has done something
— Meditations, Book IX, 5
A man's true delight is to do the things he was made for
— Meditations, Book 8.26
Regard everything as an exercise, so that nothing may come upon you unprepared
— Meditations 6.33
Receive every gift from fortune in a humble spirit, and be prepared to give it back to fate should she claim it
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 50
The memory of everything is very soon overwhelmed in time
— Meditations, Book VII
No one can lose either the past or the future; how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess?
— Meditations, Book II, Section 14
As emperor, see that you do not become dyed with the purple: for such things do happen. Keep yourself simple, good, pure, serious, unpretending, a friend of justice, god-fearing, kind, full of affection, strong for your proper work
— Meditations, Book VI.30
To do harm is to do yourself harm; to do an injustice is to do yourself an injustice
— Meditations, Book 9.4
Do not waste what remains of your life in anticipation of trouble, for it is quite possible that you will never encounter it
— Meditations VII.8
Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom yourself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things that are and to make new things like them.
— Meditations 4.36
In all things, ask yourself: What is the nature of this? What does it mean to me? Will it cause me any harm?
— Meditations Book XI
Consider how many people who were once well known are now forgotten, and how many people who remembered them have long since died themselves
— Meditations, Book VII, 6
How quickly all things disappear—in the universe the bodies themselves, but in time the remembrance of them.
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 21
Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life
— Meditations, Book III, 11
If you seek tranquillity, do less. Or more accurately, do what’s essential
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 24
Live in accordance with nature
— Meditations II.1
When you have the power to benefit someone, why put it off?
— Meditations, Book 12.1
The greater harm is to him who does the wrong than to him who suffers it
— Meditations, Book 9, Section 4
Let not your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you have already
— Meditations 7.27
Stop whatever you’re doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won’t be able to do this anymore?
— Meditations, Book 10.29
Do not hanker after what you do not have. Instead, fix your attentions on the finest and best that you have, and imagine how much you would long for these if they were not in your possession.
— Meditations, Book 7.27
When you rise in the morning, consider what business you have to perform in the service of man
— Meditations, Book 2.1
The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away
— Meditations 6.38
A man's true delight is to do the things he was made for
— Meditations, Book VIII.26
Whoever does wrong, wrongs himself; whoever does injustice, does it to himself, making himself evil
— Meditations 9.4
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
— Meditations, Book 4.17
Receive whatever comes, woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 57
What we do now echoes in eternity
— Attributed to Meditations, Book IV
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations VII.61
Live not as though there were a thousand years ahead of you. Fate is at your elbow; make yourself good while life and power are still yours
— Meditations, Book IV
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
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 39
Look well into yourself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if you will always look there
— Meditations 7.59
Live a simple, modest, straightforward life. Be content with little, seek justice, love your neighbor, be prepared for death
— Meditations VII.31
You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength
— Meditations 12.36
Remember that to change your mind and to follow someone who puts you right is also a duty. Do not be ashamed to be corrected, for it is better to be corrected than to persist in error
— Meditations, Book VI
At every impulse, give what is right: preserve what is true
— Meditations, Book 6.6
The best way to avenge yourself is to not become like the wrongdoer
— Meditations, Book 6
Spend your brief moment according to nature, and then pass on your way with a cheerful spirit, as drops of water are absorbed into the sea
— Meditations, Book VII, 50
If someone does you wrong, teach him kindly and show him his error. But if you are not able, blame yourself, or not even yourself.
— Meditations, Book X, Section 4
Give yourself a gift: the present moment
— Meditations 7.52
If anyone can show me that what I think or do is wrong, I will gladly change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed
— Meditations, Book VI
The tranquility that comes when you stop caring what they say, or think, or do. Only what you do
— Meditations, Book 4
Whatever happens to you is for you. It was prescribed for you from the beginning
— Meditations, Book V, 8
Stop denying yourself; notice how often you have already put off doing what is right, and how often you have failed to use the opportunity given to you by the gods
— Meditations 5.6
Let it be your constant aim to focus your mind strictly on the performance of the task in hand, with all the calm dignity, self-discipline, and mastery it can command
— Meditations, Book 6.30
Do not waste what remains of your life in doubts and fears concerning others, for you have no control over their thoughts
— Meditations, Book 3, Section 4
Look not around at the depraved morals of others, but run straight along the line without deviating from the right path
— Meditations, Book VI
Consider how swiftly all things are obliterated: the bodies in the world themselves, and in time the remembrance of them in the world
— Meditations, Book VII
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
— Meditations, Book 4.22
To refrain from imitation is the best revenge
— Meditations, Book VI, 6
Is any man afraid of change? What can take place without change? Can you yourself take a hot bath without the wood being changed? Can you be nourished without the food being changed?
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 18
How soon will time cover all things, and how many it has covered already
— Meditations 7.6
Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness
— Meditations, Book II
If you would not be unhappy, do not desire what does not belong to you
— Meditations, Book XII
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book 7
Does the light of a lamp shine and keep its glow until it is extinguished, and will you complain that formulae are not still there for you?
— Meditations, Book XII
Nothing happens to any man that he is not formed by nature to bear
— Meditations, Book 5
Let your actions be guided solely by justice, never influenced by anger or by another’s wrongdoing
— Meditations, Book VI, 22
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book 4.3
Recall frequently how many physicians have died after knitting their brows over how many deathbeds, and how many astrologers after predicting the deaths of others with great solemnity
— Meditations, Book IV
Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.
— Meditations, Book 4.7
How unsound and insincere is he who says, 'I have made a resolution to be honest,' but tomorrow breaks it; you ought to set out with the firm intention of having nothing but what is just and true in both word and deed
— Meditations, Book 6.10
Consider at what price you sell your integrity; but please, for God’s sake, don’t sell it cheap.
— Meditations, Book IV
Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future too
— Meditations, Book 7.49
Let your opinion be taken away, and complaint is taken away; the event itself does not produce pain, but the judgment about it does.
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 47
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do
— Meditations, Book 5
Be like the promontory against which the waves continually break, but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it
— Meditations, Book 4.49
Be like the rocky headland on which the waves constantly break. It stands firm, and around it the seething waters are laid to rest
— Meditations, Book IV, 49
No man is hurt but by himself
— Meditations, Book VI, Section 42
Let yourself continually dwell on those by whom you have been made better
— Meditations, Book VI
All men are made one for another: either then teach them better or bear with them
— Meditations, Book 8.59
Whenever you want to cheer yourself, think of the virtues of those who live with you; for instance, the energy of one, the modesty of another, the generosity of a third, and so on
— Meditations Book VI
A man's worth is no greater than his ambitions
— Meditations, Book VII, 3
If anyone can refute me—show me I’m making a mistake or looking at things from the wrong perspective—I'll gladly change. It’s the truth I’m after, and the truth never harmed anyone
— Meditations, Book 6
The act of dying is one of the acts of life
— Meditations, Book VI
A limit and a time is fixed for you, which if you do not use for clearing away the clouds from your mind, it will go, and you will go, and it will never return
— Meditations Book II
Let your method of action be, first, to examine yourself; and only then, when you have put yourself right, act as your nature directs
— Meditations, Book IX
Look at the life you have led until now as over, and as a dead man, see what’s left as a gift. Live it out in nature according to nature
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 56
It is not the actions of others which trouble us, but our own judgments about them
— Meditations, Book XI, Section 18
A wrongdoer is often a man who has left something undone, not always one who has done something
— Meditations, Book 9, Section 5
If it is not in your control, do not worry about it
— Meditations 8.47
Receive without pride, let go without attachment
— Meditations Book VIII
It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own
— Meditations, Book 12.4
Let no action be random, nor shopworn or hasty. Let all be done intentionally, thoughtfully, and in service of others
— Meditations, Book IV
If you do the job in a principled way, with diligence, energy, and patience, keep yourself free of distractions, you will have lived a good life. And no one is able to stop you
— Meditations, Book 3.12
To love and to be loved is the same thing, as loving and being loved are activities that take place together
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 30
If a man is mistaken, instruct him kindly and show him his error. But if you are not able, blame yourself, or not even yourself.
— Meditations, Book X
Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time
— Meditations, Book 10, 5
Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind
— Meditations, Book 5.16
Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul
— Meditations, Book 4.3
Suppose that a god announced that you were going to die tomorrow ‘or the day after.’ In that case, unless you were a complete coward, you would not kick up a fuss about which day it was—what difference could it make?
— Meditations, Book VIII, 22
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 in your possession
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 27
How ludicrous and outlandish to be surprised at anything that happens in life
— Meditations, Book 12.13
Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream; for as soon as a thing has been seen, it is carried away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried away too
— Meditations, Book 4.43
A person's worth is measured by the worth of what he values
— Meditations, Book 7.3
A man's worth is no greater than his ambitions
— Meditations, Book 7.3
A cucumber is bitter? Then throw it away. There are brambles in the path? Then go round them. That is enough. Do not add, ‘But why are such things found in the world?’
— Meditations, Book VIII
Is a world without pain possible? Then do not ask the impossible
— Meditations, Book IX, 41
Regard it as a small matter whether you are cold or warm, if you are doing what you should, and for the common good, then do it cheerfully
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 2
The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.
— Meditations, Book 5.16
Nowhere you can go is more peaceful—more free of interruptions—than your own soul
— Meditations, Book 4.3
The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.
— Meditations, Book 6
All is ephemeral—fame and the famous as well
— Meditations, Book IV.35
Look at everything that exists, and observe that it is already dissolving, changing, and coming to an end
— Meditations, Book 10.7
A man's life is what his will makes it
— Meditations, Book VI
Let no man any longer hear you finding fault with palace life or your own
— Meditations, Book V, 16
If it is not true, do not say it. If it is not right, do not do it
— Meditations, Book 12, Section 17
To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions
— Meditations, Book 6
Take full account of what excellencies you possess, and in gratitude remember how you would long for them if you had them not.
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 27
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. What if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall?
— Meditations, Book VII
To expect bad men not to do wrong is madness, for he who expects this desires an impossibility
— Meditations, Book XII, 16
A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself
— Meditations, Book II, 2
Let your joy be in your actions, never in the outcome
— Meditations Book VI, 50
If fame comes after death, I am in no hurry for it
— Meditations, Book 7.34
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth
— Meditations, Book XII
When you must deal with them, do so kindly and speak to them as you would wish yourself to be spoken to
— Meditations, Book 11.18
When force of circumstance upsets your equanimity, lose no time in recovering your self-control, and do not remain out of tune longer than you can help. Habitual recurrence to the harmony will increase your mastery of it
— Meditations, Book VI
Practise even what seems impossible
— Meditations, Book 6.13
If a man does not value himself more highly than pleasures, he will never be worthy of self-respect
— Meditations 10.31
Remind yourself that those who cling to reputation will soon be forgotten, those who build monuments have their names worn away, those who strive for fame are soon dust and ashes
— Meditations 4.33
Everything suits me that suits your designs, O my universe. Nothing is too early nor too late for me, which is in due time for you
— Meditations, Book IV
If fame comes after death, I am in no hurry for it
— Meditations, Book 7.34
When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your defining characteristic—what defines a human being—is to work with others
— Meditations, Book V
How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life
— Meditations, Book 12, Section 13
Meditate often on the swifter passage of all things to oblivion: the vast gulf of past and future time, in which all things vanish
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 47
Poverty is the mother of crime
— Meditations, Book IX, 36
Everything that happens, happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 10
The present moment is all we have to live in, for all else is either past or uncertain
— Meditations, Book 3.10
No one loses any other life than the one he now lives, nor does one live any other life than that which he is losing
— Meditations, Book II, 14
Let your one delight and refreshment be to pass from one act of kindness to another, with God ever in mind
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 42
Do not waste what remains of your life in deliberating about others, when you do not refer your thoughts to some object of common utility
— Meditations, Book III, 4
Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not, 'This is misfortune,' but 'To bear this worthily is good fortune.'
— Meditations, Book 4.49
Be mindful always of how many doctors have died after furrowing their brows over so many deathbeds, how many astrologers, after predicting with great ceremony the deaths of others, have themselves died
— Meditations, Book VIII, 6
The best way to defend yourself is not to share in the offense
— Meditations Book VI, 6
As long as you do what’s proper to your nature, and accept what the world’s nature has in store, you have no reason to fear anything
— Meditations, Book 7
Let your actions be directed solely by justice, never influenced by anger or by another’s wrongdoing
— Meditations, Book 6.6
To love fame is to be consumed by the opinions of others
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 16
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 hold any particular opinion about you
— Meditations, Book XI, 19
Everything that happens is either endurable or not. If it is endurable, then endure it. If it is not, then stop complaining; your destruction will mean its end as well
— Meditations, Book 10
Do not be turned aside by your disgust or weariness: stick to your task even if you are never to be famous for it
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 22
As the mind shapes itself to the circumstances, so will the situation shape itself to the mind
— Meditations, Book VI
Life is a warfare and a stranger’s sojourn, and after-fame is oblivion
— Meditations, Book 2.17
Stop being jerked like a puppet. Limit yourself to the present
— Meditations, Book 7.29
To undertake nothing at random, nor for any end but the common good
— Meditations, Book XII
Remember that change in all things is sweet, and familiarity lends a charm to all aspects of nature.
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 15
A thing is neither better nor worse for having been praised
— Meditations, Book 4.19
Every living organism is fulfilled when it follows the right path for its own nature
— Meditations, Book VII
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations 11.7
Never regard anything as doing you good if it makes you betray a trust, or lose your sense of shame, or makes you show hatred, suspicion, ill-will, or hypocrisy
— Meditations, Book 3
How soon will time cover all things, and how many it has covered already
— Meditations IV.33
Never value anything as profitable to yourself that you will have to break your word or lose your self-respect for it
— Meditations, Book III
Look at the stars often as if you were running alongside them
— Meditations, Book 7.47
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is nature's delight
— Meditations, Book XII, 21
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI, Section 7
That which is not good for the beehive, cannot be good for the bee
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 54
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI
Whatever happens at all happens as it should; you will find this true, if you watch narrowly
— Meditations, Book IV, 10
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way
— Meditations, Book V
The only thing that isn't worthless: to live this life out truthfully and rightly. And be patient with those who don't
— Meditations, Book 6.47
Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else
— Meditations, Book IX
Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought
— Meditations 8.51
If you set yourself to your present task along the path of true reason, with zealous energy, with kindness, with detachment, and with a just disposition, then you will live happily. No one has the power to prevent this
— Meditations, Book 3.12
Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
— Meditations, Book X
All things are interwoven with one another; a sacred bond unites them
— Meditations 7.9
Put from you the belief that 'I have been wronged,' and with it will go the feeling
— Meditations, Book IV
Receive wealth or prosperity without arrogance; and be ready to let it go
— Meditations, Book 8
When you arise in the morning, think of what you have to do, and do not be put off by sleepiness, thinking of rest and pleasure. First, consider whether it is your nature to do what you have to do, and then get to it
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 1
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests
— Meditations VII.69
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
— Meditations, Book VI
Let your mind be constantly fixed on those by whom you have been made better
— Meditations, Book 6.48
No one can lose either the past or the future; how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess?
— Meditations, Book 2.14
The mind in itself has no needs, except for those it creates itself
— Meditations, Book VII.16
Life is neither good nor evil, but only a place for good and evil
— Meditations, Book II, 11
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book 11, Section 7
The mind that is free from passions is a fortress, and no place is stronger
— Meditations, Book VIII, Section 48
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony exists
— Meditations, Book VII, 57
You exist only in the present, not in the past or future; all else either has been lived or is uncertain
— Meditations III.10
Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if you will ever dig
— Meditations, Book VII
Bear in mind that the measure of a man is the worth of the things he cares about
— Meditations, Book VII, 3
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
— Meditations, Book 4.17
Remember how long you have been putting off these things, and how often you have received an opportunity from the gods, and yet do not use it
— Meditations, Book 5.1
Live each day as if it were your last, neither in violence, nor in torpor, nor in hypocrisy
— Meditations 7.69
If it is endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining
— Meditations, Book X, Section 3
Live not as if destiny had given you a thousand years. Death stands at your elbow; be good for something while you live and it is in your power
— Meditations, Book IV
Receive wealth or prosperity without arrogance; and be ready to let it go
— Meditations, Book 8.33
It is possible to act rightly, even in a palace
— Meditations, Book V, Section 16
Be content with what you are, and wish not change; nor dread your last day, nor long for it
— Meditations, Book 7, 27
Whenever you want to cheer yourself, think of the virtues of those who live with you; for instance, the energy of one, the modesty of another, the generosity of a third, and so on. For nothing is as encouraging as when the virtues manifest themselves abundantly in the characters of those around us.
— Meditations, Book VI
When you arise in the morning, think of what you have to do, and do not be put off by sleepiness or desire for comfort
— Meditations, Book 5.1
Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly
— Meditations 7.56
Whatever happens at all, happens as it should; you will find this true, if you watch narrowly
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 10
If anyone does you wrong, keep in mind that he has acted on his own convictions
— Meditations VI.50
Whatever happens to you, love that which fate brings and be content, for what could be more suited to your needs?
— Meditations, Book VII, 57
Let your mind hold fast to what is just and let it hold fast to modesty, and contentment with whatever happens
— Meditations, Book 6.30
Let your method of action be, first, to examine yourself; and only then, when you have put yourself right, act as your nature directs
— Meditations, Book 12, Section 16
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 that judgment now
— Meditations, Book VIII
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. What if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall?
— Meditations 7.7
Remember that man is just a tiny part of a vast universe, and he lives only for a very brief time
— Meditations, Book 5
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
— Meditations, Book VI
On seeing yourself as you are, and seeing what you have: these are the thoughts that make a man content with his own lot
— Meditations, Book XII
Let your acts be directed never to a frivolous or arbitrary purpose, nor yet to anything else but the good of society
— Meditations, Book IX, Section 8
Whatever anyone does or says, I must be emerald and keep my color
— Meditations, Book VII
To what use then, am I now putting my soul? Ask yourself this question on every occasion and examine yourself
— Meditations, Book 5.11
Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect
— Meditations, Book III, Section 7
Consider how many, after their efforts and achievements, have been forgotten, and realize that fame and memory too are fleeting
— Meditations, Book 7.6
Whatever happens to the body is neither better nor worse for the body; whatever happens to the soul is either better or worse for the soul
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 20
All things are interwoven with one another; a sacred bond unites them
— Meditations, Book 7.9
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations, Book VII
To the rational animal, the same act is according to nature and according to reason
— Meditations, Book VII, 11
The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts
— Meditations 5.16
Accept humbly: let go easily
— Meditations, Book 8.33
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it
— Meditations, Book 11
Cling to what is best in yourself, to reason and to justice, and keep them always to hand
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 30
Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself
— Meditations, Book V, 33
A man should be upright, not kept upright
— Meditations, Book III
As far as you can, get into the habit of asking yourself in relation to any action: ‘How will this affect me? Shall I regret it?’
— Meditations, Book VIII
Consider how much more pain is brought on us by our anger and vexation at the misfortunes than by the misfortunes themselves
— Meditations, Book 8.47
Ask yourself at every moment, Is this necessary?
— Meditations, Book IV
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
— Meditations, Book 4, 43
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI, 7
To the wise, life is a problem; to the fool, a solution
— Meditations, Book VII
Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life
— Meditations, Book III, 11
Each day provides its own gifts
— Meditations, Book VII
Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art
— Meditations, Book IV, 2
Regard everything as an exercise, so that nothing may come upon you unprepared
— Meditations, Book III, Section 11
Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them
— Meditations Book 7.47
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
— Meditations, Book 7.8
Consider, for example, the times of Vespasian. You will see all these people busy, thinking of something, and then subsequently all is turned to ashes. Pass on to the times of Trajan, and again, all is dead and buried after a little while
— Meditations, Book 4.32
Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream; for as soon as a thing has been seen, it is carried away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried away too
— Meditations IV.43
Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life
— Meditations, Book II, 5
If it is not fit, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not
— Meditations, Book XII
Let your one delight and refreshment be to pass from one act of kindness to another, with God ever in mind
— Meditations, Book VI, 42
Where a man can live, there he can also live well.
— Meditations 5.16
If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.
— Meditations, Book 12.17
A fit character must be forged by acts, not words
— Meditations, Book 10, Section 16
The mind in itself has no needs, except for those it creates itself
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 16
At every moment keep a sturdy mind on the task in hand, as a Roman and a man, in order to accomplish it with strict and unaffected dignity
— Meditations II.5
Take the shortest path, the path that Nature has appointed; and speak and act as an upright man
— Meditations, Book 4.51
To live happily is an inward power of the soul
— Meditations, Book 7.67
What leaves the mind at peace? Doing what’s right. What else could bring us calm?
— Meditations, Book 4.22
Does the sun try to do the work of the rain? Or Asclepius that of the harvest? Every star, every god, everything in the universe, has its proper place. Why not you?
— Meditations, Book VI, Section 43
A branch cut off from the whole must of necessity die; so too a man parted from another has lost what makes him a man
— Meditations, Book VIII
The universe is change; life is opinion
— Meditations, Book 4.3
No one can lose either the past or the future; how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess?
— Meditations, Book II
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book IV, Section 3
When you are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger
— Meditations, Book X.30
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations, Book 7.61
Confine yourself to the present
— Meditations, Book VIII
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
— Meditations, Book VII, 8
You must build up your life action by action, and be content if each one achieves its goal as far as possible—and no one can keep you from this
— Meditations, Book 8.32
How soon will time cover all things, and how many it has covered already
— Meditations, Book VII, 34
If you do your duty, nothing can prevent you from living according to reason
— Meditations, Book 6.2
When you have lost a thing, reflect that the universe has demanded back what it gave
— Meditations 8.46
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
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 20
Look at things as they are, distinguishing matter, cause, and purpose, and do not let yourself be distracted by mere appearance
— Meditations, Book 8.11
Kindness is invincible, if it be sincere, free from hypocrisy or fawning
— Meditations, Book 11.18
No man is so fortunate that there will not be by his deathbed some who are pleased with what is going to happen
— Meditations, Book 10
Sometimes, even to live is an act of courage
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 30
To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 13
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it
— Meditations, Book XI, 18
Just as the nature of rational things has given to each of us a share of reason so it has given us a share of justice; and justice means relating each part to the wellbeing of the whole
— Meditations, Book 7.55
Do not suppose you are hurt, and you are not. Do not suppose yourself to be harmed, and you have not been
— Meditations, Book 4
Let not your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you have already
— Meditations, Book 7
When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger
— Meditations, Book 10
Accept the things that fate brings and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart
— Meditations, Book 6.39
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations 10.16
Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts
— Meditations IV.3
When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love
— Meditations, Book 8.12
To the wise, life is a problem; to the fool, a solution
— Meditations, Book VII
Look round at the courses of the stars, as if you were going along with them, and think constantly of the changes of elements into one another
— Meditations, Book 7.47
As the mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacles to our acting, so too a rational being can turn each setback into material for his own success
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 20
He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe
— Meditations, Book VI
If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it
— Meditations, Book XII, 17
Everything is only for a day, both that which remembers and that which is remembered
— Meditations, Book IV, 35
The best revenge is to not be like your enemy
— Meditations VI.6
Let men see, let them know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 8
Consider how many things in which you have had no experience, and yet you do not miss them, and do not regard them as significant
— Meditations 6.47
To the rational animal, the same act is according to nature and according to reason
— Meditations, Book VII, 55
Let your principles be brief and fundamental, so that, when the time comes, you may be ready to do what is required
— Meditations, Book IV
The goal in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane
— Meditations, Book 4.22
Do not suppose you are hurt, and you are not. Do not suppose yourself to be harmed, and you have not been
— Meditations, Book IV
All things are interwoven with one another, a sacred bond unites them
— Meditations, Book 7.9
Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul
— Meditations, Book IV, 3
Never value anything as profitable to yourself that you will have to break your word or lose your self-respect for it
— Meditations, Book III.7
Remember how long you have been putting off these things, and how often the gods have given you days of grace, yet you do not use them
— Meditations, Book 5.16
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book 7:57
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 that judgment now
— Meditations, Book 8.47
Each day provides its own gifts
— Meditations, Book VII
Look at the inner quality, not the outer appearance
— Meditations, Book 6.3
How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy
— Meditations, Book IV
He who fears death will never do anything worthy of a man who is alive
— Meditations, Book XII.34
That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it good for the bee
— Meditations, Book VI, 54
A person's worth is measured by the worth of what he values
— Meditations, Book 7.3
Anger cannot be dishonest
— Meditations, Book 11.18
No one loses any other life than the one he now lives, nor does one live any other life than that which he is losing
— Meditations, Book II, Section 14
When you are offended by something, consider first what judgment of yours has been upset
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 47
Let your actions aim toward the common good
— Meditations Book 9.31
He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and collected
— Meditations, Book 10.8
Our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations 4.3
Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant; all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed
— Meditations, Book III
No more wandering. You are not likely to read your own memoirs, or the acts of ancient Romans and Greeks. It is time to be a man and to live the life that belongs to you
— Meditations, Book 10, Section 16
A man should be upright, not kept upright
— Meditations, Book III, 5
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts
— Meditations 5.16
The universe is transformation; life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV, 3
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 can’t tell good from evil
— Meditations 2.1
Look beneath the surface; let not the several qualities of a thing nor its value escape thee
— Meditations, Book 6.3
A man's life is what his thoughts make of it
— Meditations, Book 5.16
Look at everything that exists, and observe that it is already dissolving, changing, and coming to an end
— Meditations, Book IX, 36
Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art
— Meditations, Book IV
If fame comes after death, I am in no hurry for it
— Meditations, Book VI, 30
Do not waste what remains of your life in doubt and fear about others, when you do not refer your thoughts to some object of common utility
— Meditations, Book 3.4
How soon will time cover all things, and how many it has covered already
— Meditations, Book 7
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations XI.7
The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away
— Meditations, Book VI
The best way to live is to be like the rock against which the waves break, standing firm and steady as the water seethes around it
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 49
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 57
Do not suppose you are hurt, and you are not. Do not suppose yourself to be harmed, and you have not been
— Meditations 4.7
Perceive at last that you have in you something stronger and more divine than what causes the passions and pulls you like a puppet
— Meditations, Book XII
When jarred, unavoidably, by circumstances, revert at once to yourself, and don't lose the rhythm more than you can help
— Meditations, Book VI
Live a simple and modest life; be content with what you have, seek justice, love your neighbor, and be prepared for whatever may come
— Meditations, Book VI, 30
If it is not fitting, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it
— Meditations, Book XII, 17
A man prays for his child to live. But it is for him rather to pray that his child always do the right thing
— Meditations, Book 9.40
Carry out every action in your life as if it were your last
— Meditations 2.5
How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life
— Meditations 12.13
The mind that is free from passions is a fortress, and no place is stronger
— Meditations, Book 8.48
Look at the stars, and see yourself running with them.
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 47
The objective in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane
— Meditations, Book VI, 30
The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 16
The sexual organs are given to us for procreation. But you find hearts and minds more pleasing than bodies, don’t you?
— Meditations, Book 6.13
Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time
— Meditations, Book 10.5
Do not waste what remains of your life in buffeting your imagination, in running after the things that have no part in your experience
— Meditations, Book IV, 26
In everything you do, put justice first, and never let yourself be swept away by anger or affected by another's injustice.
— Meditations, Book 6.22
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
— Meditations, Book IV
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI, 7
Do nothing inconsiderately, and speak nothing inconsistent
— Meditations, Book 12
To live happily is an inward power of the soul.
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 67
Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them
— Meditations, Book 8.59
The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts
— Meditations, Book 5.16
Let your impulse be ever determined by the need of mutual help, and departure from social service the only limit to your effort.
— Meditations, Book IX
If you seek tranquillity, do less. Or more accurately, do what’s essential
— Meditations, Book 4.24
All things are interwoven with one another; a sacred bond unites them
— Meditations, Book VII, 9
Often injustice lies in what you aren’t doing, not only in what you are doing
— Meditations, Book IX
The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 16
The best revenge is not to be like your enemy
— Meditations, Book VI, 6
If it is not fitting, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it
— Meditations, Book 12.17
Do not aim to be on the side of the majority, but to avoid finding yourself in the ranks of the insane
— Meditations, Book VI
He who does not value himself more highly than pleasures will never be worthy of respect
— Meditations, Book 3.6
Recall frequently how many physicians have died after knitting their brows over how many deathbeds, and how many astrologers after predicting the deaths of others with great solemnity
— Meditations, Book VIII
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in that it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall
— Meditations, Book 7.61
The universe is change; life is opinion
— Meditations, Book 4.3
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
— Meditations, Book 6.30
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is nature's delight
— Meditations, Book XII
Bear in mind that each of us lives only now, this brief instant; the rest is already gone or is yet to be
— Meditations, Book III
To pursue the impossible is madness. But it is madness to expect the wicked not to do wrong
— Meditations, Book 9.42
Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by
— Attributed, not in Meditations
All things are linked with one another, and this oneness is sacred; there is hardly anything that is isolated from everything else
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 9
When you arise in the morning, think what labor you have to perform in the service of man
— Meditations, Book 5.1
To pursue the impossible is madness. But it is madness to expect the wicked not to do wrong
— Meditations 9.42
To undertake nothing at random, nor for any end but the common good
— Meditations, Book XII
Adapt yourself to the environment in which your fate has placed you, and show love to those people with whom fate has brought you to live
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 39
The memory of everything is very soon overwhelmed in time.
— Meditations, Book 7.21
Keep yourself simple, good, pure, serious, unpretending, a friend of justice, god-fearing, kind, full of affection, strong for your proper work
— Meditations, Book 6
The happiness which comes from within depends on the state of your own mind
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 67
The perfection of moral character consists in this: to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending
— Meditations, Book VII, 69
A king’s lot: to do well with the lot he's given
— Meditations, Book VI, Section 42
Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly
— Meditations VII.56
The first step: Not to be overcome by anything external. The second: To direct your actions always to a social purpose
— Meditations, Book VIII, 7
As surgeons keep their knives and instruments always ready for some sudden need, so you should keep the doctrines of philosophy ready for the recognition of the divine and the human
— Meditations, Book 3.13
Do not then consider life a thing of any value. For look at the immensity of time behind you, and the time which is before you, another boundless space. In this infinity, what is the difference between him who lives three days and him who lives three generations?
— Meditations, Book 4
Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art
— Meditations 4.2
If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it
— Meditations, Book 12.17
So keep yourself simple, good, pure, serious, unpretending; a friend of justice, god-fearing, kind, full of affection, strong for your proper work.
— Meditations, Book 6.30
Nothing happens to any man that he is not formed by nature to bear
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 18
How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life
— Meditations, Book XII, 13
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
— Meditations, Book VIII
Do not be overheard complaining... Not even to yourself
— Meditations, Book 8
He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and collected
— Meditations X.12
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.
— Meditations, Book 4
Remember that you are an actor in a play, and the playwright chooses the length of the play: if it is short, it is short; if long, long. If he wants you to act a poor man, a cripple, a rule, or a private citizen, see that you act it well
— Meditations, Book XI, 36 (paraphrasing Epictetus)
How unsound and insincere is he who says, ‘I have made a resolution to be honest’; tomorrow he breaks it. But you ought to set out with the firm intention of having nothing but what is just and true in both word and deed
— Meditations, Book IX, 7
To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions
— Meditations, Book IV
Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them
— Meditations, Book 8.59
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
— Meditations, Book 8.47
To refrain from imitation is the best revenge
— Meditations, Book VI, 6
Do not waste what remains of your life in idle argument about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations, Book 10, Section 16
Does the sun try to do the work of the rain? Or Asclepius that of the harvest? Every star, every god, everything in the universe, has its proper place. Why not you?
— Meditations, Book VI, 43
Remember you are an actor in a play, the character of which is determined by the author; if brief, then it is brief; if long, then it is long; if he wishes you to act the part of a beggar, remember to act even this finely
— Meditations, Book XI
Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look
— Meditations, Book VII
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it
— Meditations, Book 11.18
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book 7.57
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts
— Meditations, Book V, Section 16
Does man fear change? What can come into being save by change?
— Meditations, Book 7.18
Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not, 'This is misfortune,' but 'To bear this worthily is good fortune.'
— Meditations, Book IV
Discard your misperceptions. Stop being jerked like a puppet. Limit yourself to the present.
— Meditations, Book 12.29
Let your actions be guided solely by justice, never influenced by anger or by another’s wrongdoing
— Meditations, Book 6.50
Nature gives and then takes back, and to live well is to accept both with dignity
— Meditations, Book 12, Section 36
Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 56
The measure of a man is the worth of the things he cares about
— Meditations, Book 7.3
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI
Everything that exists is, in a way, the seed of what will emerge from it
— Meditations, Book 4.14
Regard everything as an exercise, so that nothing may come upon you unprepared
— Meditations, Book 10, Section 34
Whatever happens to you is prescribed for you from eternity and unfolds according to fate.
— Meditations, Book 5.8
How quickly all things disappear, in the universe the bodies themselves, but in time the remembrance of them
— Meditations, Book VII, 21
Each day provides its own gifts
— Meditations, Book V, 33
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. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone
— Meditations, Book VI
The best revenge is not to be like your enemy
— Meditations, Book VI, 6
Let your mind hold fast to what is just and let it hold fast to modesty, and contentment with whatever happens
— Meditations, Book 6.16
To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions
— Meditations, Book VI, 53
What does not benefit the hive, does not benefit the bee
— Meditations, Book VI, Section 54
Receive whatever comes, woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?
— Meditations, Book 7.57
Confine yourself to the present
— Meditations, Book VIII
The wise man is neither raised up by prosperity nor cast down by adversity
— Meditations, Book 7
All things are interwoven with one another; a sacred bond unites them
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 9
Consider that before long you will be nobody and nowhere, nor will any of those who are now alive
— Meditations, Book 10.31
Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish
— Meditations, Book VI.19
All things are interwoven with one another, a sacred bond unites them
— Meditations, Book VII
Do not waste time on what you cannot control
— Meditations, Book IV
The act of dying is one of the acts of life
— Meditations 2.17
To live a simple, modest, straightforward life; to be content with little, to seek justice, to love your neighbor, to be prepared for death
— Meditations, Book 7
Nowhere can you find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in your own soul
— Meditations, Book IV
A person's worth is measured by the worth of what he values
— Meditations VII.3
If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you were bound to give it back at once, if you hold to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with your present activity according to nature and with heroic truth in every word and sound which you utter, you will live happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this.
— Meditations, Book III
The mind that is free from passions is a fortress, and no place is stronger.
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 48
Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant; all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed.
— Meditations, Book 3.10
He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe
— Meditations 6.16
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 that judgment now
— Meditations, Book VIII, 47
Every living organism is fulfilled when it follows the right path for its own nature
— Meditations, Book IX
How absurd and a stranger is he who is surprised at anything which happens in life
— Meditations Book XII, 13
Cling to what is best in yourself, to reason and to justice, and keep them always to hand
— Meditations 6.30
Everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be
— Meditations, Book 4
If it is possible, teach others; if not, remember that kindness was given to you for moments such as these
— Meditations, Book 9.11
A wrongdoer is often a man who has left something undone, not always one who has done something
— Meditations, Book IX
Stop letting yourself be pulled in all directions. But make sure you guard against the other kind of confusion: people who are driven by their concern for what the neighbors will say, or by their passions, their ideas, or their attractions to the things they want
— Meditations, Book 2
Everything that happens is either endurable or not. If it is endurable, then endure it. If it is not, then stop complaining; your destruction will mean its end as well
— Meditations, Book X, 3
The universe is transformation; life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV, 3
No one can lose either the past or the future; how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess?
— Meditations, Book II, Section 14
Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish
— Meditations, Book 6
If it is possible, teach others; if not, remember that kindness was given to you for moments such as these
— Meditations, Book IX, Section 11
Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under your observation in life
— Meditations, Book 3, Section 11
What does not make a man worse than he was, also does not make his life worse, nor does it harm him from without or within
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 8
To love only what happens to you, and is spun with the thread of your destiny. For what could better fit your needs?
— Meditations, Book 7.57
To receive an injury is to have it done to you; but to harbor resentment is to do injury to yourself
— Meditations, Book VI
To do harm is to do yourself harm; to do an injustice is to do yourself an injustice
— Meditations, Book IX
Enough of this miserable life and whining and aping. Why be disturbed by anything at all?
— Meditations, Book 10.16
How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life
— Meditations, Book XII
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI, 7
The perfection of moral character consists in this: to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 69
Because your own strength is just the sum of those principles to which you adhere
— Meditations VII.13
Let your desires be ruled by reason
— Meditations, Book 6.24
Soon you will have forgotten all things; soon all things will have forgotten you
— Meditations, Book VII, 21
How much time he who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks saves for himself, to attend to his own conduct
— Meditations, Book IV
What does not benefit the hive, does not benefit the bee
— Meditations, Book 6.54
The time you have is short. Use it to advance your enlightenment or it will be gone, and never return
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 17
Shame on the soul, to surrender when you are still strong
— Meditations, Book VI
If someone is able to show me my error or point out what is right, I will gladly change; it is the truth I seek, and no one was ever hurt by the truth
— Meditations, Book 6.21
Consider that before long you will be nobody and nowhere, nor will any of those who are now alive
— Meditations, Book VII, 21
Stop talking about what a good man is like, and just be one
— Meditations, Book X
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations, Book VII, 61
Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.
— Meditations, Book 7
Let it make no difference to you whether you are cold or warm, if you are doing your duty for the common good
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 2
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight
— Meditations, Book XII, 21
A limit and a time is fixed for you, which if you do not use for clearing away the clouds from your mind, it will go and you will go, and it will never return
— Meditations, Book II, 4
When you wish to delight yourself, think of the virtues of those who live with you; for instance, the energy of one, the modesty of another, the generosity of a third, and so on. For nothing is as encouraging as when the virtues manifest themselves abundantly in the characters of those around us
— Meditations, Book 6.48
To the wise, life is a problem; to the fool, a solution
— Meditations, Book VII, 68
The perfection of moral character consists in this: to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending
— Meditations, Book 7
Your own mind is the ruler of your destiny, and can provide tranquility whenever it so chooses
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 47
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
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 52
Everything that exists is in a sense the seed of what will come from it
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 14
Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life
— Meditations, Book 2.5
To live a good life: We have the potential for it. If we can learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference
— Meditations, Book 11
Consider how swiftly all things are obliterated: the bodies in the world themselves, and in time the remembrance of them in the world
— Meditations, Book VII, 21
If anyone does wrong, it is because he thinks it the right thing to do
— Meditations, Book VII, 26
Whatever anyone does or says, I must be emerald and keep my color
— Meditations, Book VII, 15
Think of the life you have lived until now as over and, as a dead man, see what's left as a bonus and live it according to Nature
— Meditations, Book VII, 56
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations, Book 7.61
All men are made one for another: either then teach them better or bear with them
— Meditations 8.59
It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own
— Meditations, Book XII, 4
A king’s lot: to do well with the lot he's given
— Meditations, Book 6.42
Cling to what is best in yourself, to reason and to justice, and keep them always to hand
— Meditations, Book VI
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book 11.7
Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts
— Meditations 5.16
Even the smallest of tasks, if done with attention, becomes valuable
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 22
Let opinion be taken away, and complaint is taken away; the event itself does not produce pain, but the judgment about it does
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 47
Our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations 4.3
Observe how all things are continually being born of change; teach yourself to see that Nature loves nothing so much as to change existing forms and to create new ones
— Meditations 4.36
To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions
— Meditations, Book VI, 53
Look not around at the depraved morals of others, but run straight along the line without deviating from the right path
— Meditations, Book VI, 29
When someone does you harm, you should consider what notion of good or evil prompted him, for when you understand, you will pity him
— Meditations, Book 7.26
The universe is change; life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV
Perceive at last that you have in you something stronger and more divine than what causes the passions and pulls you like a puppet
— Meditations, Book 12.19
Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly
— Meditations, Book VII, 56
Live a simple, modest, straightforward life. Be content with little, seek justice, love your neighbor, be prepared for death
— Meditations, Book VII, 31
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. What if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall?
— Meditations, Book VII, 7
What is your art? To be good
— Meditations, Book XI
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
— Meditations, Book VIII
Let your joy be in your actions, never in their outcome
— Meditations, Book VI, 41
Let them see, if they can, that joy perhaps consists in very few things; and that anyone can provide them for himself, or, if not, that he can at least not regret their absence
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 67
When you want to delight yourself, think of the virtues of those who live with you
— Meditations VI.48
When circumstances force you to lose your composure, quickly return to yourself, and don’t remain out of tune longer than you can help
— Meditations, Book VI, Section 11
Consider how many, after their efforts and achievements, have been forgotten, and realize that fame and memory too are fleeting
— Meditations, Book VII, 6
When you have lost a thing, reflect that the universe has demanded back what it gave
— Meditations, Book VIII, 41
Ask yourself at every moment, Is this necessary?
— Meditations 4.24
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is nature’s delight
— Meditations, Book 12
Look not in any man's actions for approval, but in the works themselves seek the excellence of the act
— Meditations, Book VI
Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter
— Meditations, Book VI, Section 2
You are a little soul carrying about a corpse, as Epictetus used to say
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 41
Shame on the soul, to surrender when you are still strong
— Meditations, Book 6
When force of circumstance upsets your equanimity, lose no time in recovering your self-control, and do not remain out of tune longer than you can help
— Meditations, Book VI, 11
The cucumber is bitter? Then throw it away. There are brambles in the path? Then go round them. That is enough. Do not add, 'But why are such things found in the world?'
— Meditations 8.50
If any man despises me, that is his problem. My only concern is not doing or saying anything deserving of contempt
— Meditations, Book 8
Life is a warfare and a stranger’s sojourn, and after-fame is oblivion.
— Meditations, Book II, Section 17
Let your mind constantly dwell on those by whom you yourself have been rendered better
— Meditations, Book VI
Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly
— Meditations, Book VII, 56
Just as nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it—turns it to its purposes, incorporates it into itself—so too a rational being can turn each setback into material for his own success.
— Meditations, Book 8.35
The world is mere change, and this life is but an opinion
— Meditations, Book IV, 3
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI, 7
Take the things you deal with one by one and inquire for what purpose each was produced. Let its end direct your actions
— Meditations, Book VI
You are a little soul carrying about a corpse, as Epictetus used to say
— Meditations IV.41
Alexander, Julius Caesar, Pompey: what are they in comparison with Diogenes, Heraclitus, Socrates? The latter saw into reality, its causes and its matter; and their directing minds were their own.
— Meditations, Book 8.3
Let not future things disturb you, for you will come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with you the same reason which now you use for present things
— Meditations, Book VII
A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself
— Meditations 2.2
Do not go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one
— Meditations, Book X, 16
Let opinion be taken away, and complaint is taken away; the event itself does not produce pain, but the judgment about it does
— Meditations, Book VIII, 47
Practice even what seems impossible
— Meditations, Book 6.12
How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy
— Meditations, Book IV
All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment; action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way
— Meditations, Book IX, 6
Does man fear change? What can come into being save by change?
— Meditations, Book VII
If you are troubled 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
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 47
Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if you will ever dig
— Meditations, Book VII.59
Throw away your books; stop letting yourself be distracted. That is not allowed. Instead, as if you were dying right now, despise your flesh. A mess of blood, pieces of bone, a woven tangle of nerves, veins, arteries. Consider what the mind is: reason
— Meditations, Book II, Section 2
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in that it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall
— Meditations, Book 7.61
Consider that before long you will be nobody and nowhere, nor will anything that you now behold exist, nor any of those now living
— Meditations, Book X.31
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is nature's delight
— Meditations 12.21
Remember that sometimes to change your mind and to follow someone who puts you right is also a duty
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 21
You have existed as a part. You will vanish entirely into that which produced you; or, rather, change will happen to you
— Meditations, Book IV, 14
He who does wrong does wrong against himself. He who acts unjustly, acts unjustly to himself, because he makes himself bad
— Meditations, Book IX.4
When you have assumed these social roles—son, brother, father, leader—remember that the doing of each is up to you
— Meditations, Book 5.16
He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe
— Meditations, Book VI
Kindness is invincible, if it be sincere, free from hypocrisy or fawning; for what can the most malicious man do to you, if you persist in kindness to him?
— Meditations, Book XI
Do not go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one
— Meditations, Book X.16
A limit and a time is fixed for you, which if you do not use for clearing away the clouds from your mind, it will go, and you will go, and it will never return
— Meditations 2.4
Do what you will. Even if you tear yourself apart, most people will continue doing the same things
— Meditations, Book IX
So keep yourself simple, good, pure, serious, unpretending; a friend of justice, god-fearing, kind, full of affection, strong for your proper work
— Meditations VI.30
When jarred, unavoidably, by circumstances, revert at once to yourself, and don't lose the rhythm more than you can help
— Meditations, Book 6
All is ephemeral—fame and the famous as well
— Meditations, Book IV
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
— Meditations, Book 5
What is not good for the swarm is not good for the bee
— Meditations, Book VI, 54
Everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be
— Meditations, Book IV, 15
Observe how all things are continually being born of change; teach yourself to see that Nature loves nothing so much as to change existing forms and to create new ones
— Meditations, Book IV
Do every act of your life as if it were your last
— Meditations, Book II, Section 5
Poverty is the mother of crime
— Meditations, Book 7
Do not waste what remains of your life in speculating about your neighbors, unless with a view to some mutual benefit
— Meditations, Book III
Receive without pride, let go without attachment.
— Meditations, Book VIII
The universe is change. Life is perception
— Meditations, Book 4
So keep yourself simple, good, pure, serious, unpretending; a friend of justice, god-fearing, kind, full of affection, strong for your proper work
— Meditations, Book VI, Section 30
No one is so fortunate as not to have someone stand by his deathbed and make some new and sinister remark about him
— Meditations, Book 3:4
Let each thing you would do, say, or intend, be like that of a dying person
— Meditations, Book II
If your sorrow is caused by something outside yourself, it is not the thing itself that troubles you, but your judgment about it, and you have the power to revoke this at any moment
— Meditations, Book VIII
Let your desire be for what you have, and dislike for what you don’t have be nullified
— Meditations, Book VI
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 can’t tell good from evil
— Meditations, Book II
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
— Meditations, Book 5.20
Living is more like wrestling than dancing; you have to be prepared to stand your ground unexpectedly
— Meditations, Book 7.61
Let your inner self remain undisturbed, and thus you will maintain your composure and peace even when confronted by trouble
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 59
Let your aim be to do everything as an opportunity for practicing virtue
— Meditations, Book 6.2
Let your one delight and refreshment be to pass from one act of kindness to another, with God ever in mind
— Meditations 6.42
Do not waste what remains of your life in doubts and fears about others
— Meditations, Book 2
No man is so fortunate that there will not be by his deathbed some who are pleased with what is about to happen
— Meditations, Book 10.36
Practice even what seems impossible
— Meditations, Book VI
A branch cut off from the whole must of necessity die; so too a man parted from another has lost what makes him a man
— Meditations, Book 11, Section 8
He who sees himself clearly will neither value applause nor fear criticism
— Meditations 12.4
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. What if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall
— Meditations, Book 7
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.
— Meditations, Book 10
Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not, 'This is misfortune,' but 'To bear this worthily is good fortune.'
— Meditations, Book 4.49
Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time
— Meditations, Book 10
Let your thoughts dwell on the virtues of those who live with you
— Meditations, Book 6.48
If someone does wrong, it is because they are mistaken about what is good and evil
— Meditations, Book XI, 18
Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future too.
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 49
Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly
— Meditations, Book 7.56
Look not in any man's actions for approval, but in the works themselves seek the excellence of the act
— Meditations 6.30
Confine yourself to the present.
— Meditations, Book 8.36
When you have sinned, do not add to it by running away; rather, remain and be reformed
— Meditations 9.20
If anyone despises me, that is their problem. My only concern is not doing or saying anything deserving of contempt
— Meditations, Book VIII, 36
Soon you will have forgotten all things; soon all things will have forgotten you
— Meditations, Book 7
Do not act contrary to your nature, for then you will never be content
— Meditations, Book 10
He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and collected
— Meditations, Book X
When you are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger
— Meditations, Book X, Section 30
Observe how quickly all things are dissolved and resolved into the elements from which they are compounded
— Meditations, Book X
Live not one's life as though one had a thousand years, but as if death were close at hand
— Meditations, Book IV.17
To live happily is an inward power of the soul
— Meditations, Book V.36
Dig within. Within is the wellspring of good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig
— Meditations, Book VII, 59
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 hold any particular opinion about you
— Meditations 9.27
Remember that sometimes even to live is an act of courage
— Meditations, Book 7.47
At every action, no matter how small, stop and ask yourself, ‘Is this what a good man would do?’
— Meditations, Book XI.18
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts
— Meditations, Book 4.3
Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant; all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed
— Meditations, Book 3.10
You are a little soul carrying about a corpse, as Epictetus used to say
— Meditations, Book IV, 41
Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 67
Think of the whole universe of matter and how small your share. Think about the expanse of time and how brief—almost momentary—the part marked for you
— Meditations, Book V
To live each day as nature dictates, with no complaint, no distraction or pretense
— Meditations, Book II
You should not give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they do not care at all
— Meditations, Book 7
Give yourself a gift: the present moment
— Meditations, Book 8
To the wise, life is a problem; to the fool, a solution
— Meditations, Book VII, 71
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations, Book VII.61
Consider yourself to be dead, and to have completed your life up to the present time; now live out what remains according to nature
— Meditations, Book 7.56
Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.
— Meditations, Book 5.16
The universe is transformation: life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV
A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself
— Meditations 2.2
Do not be overheard complaining... Not even to yourself
— Meditations, Book 8.9
Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time
— Meditations, Book X, Section 5
The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book IV
The whole universe is change and life itself is but what you deem it
— Meditations, Book 4.3
To move from one unselfish action to another with God in mind. Only there, delight and stillness
— Meditations, Book VI
All is ephemeral—fame and the famous as well
— Meditations, Book IV, Section 35
What does not make a man worse than he was, also does not make his life worse, nor does it harm him from without or within
— Meditations, Book IV, Section 8
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it
— Meditations, Book 11.18
Spend your brief moment according to nature, and then pass on your way with a cheerful spirit, as drops of water are absorbed into the sea.
— Meditations, Book 8.33
What is not good for the beehive cannot be good for the bees
— Meditations, Book VI
How much trouble he avoids who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only to what he does himself, to make it just and holy
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 18
It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.
— Meditations, Book 12.4
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. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone
— Meditations, Book VI
A limit and a time is fixed for you, which if you do not use for clearing away the clouds from your mind, it will go and you will go, and it will never return
— Meditations, Book II
Poverty is the mother of crime
— Meditations, Book IV
Receive without pride, let go without attachment
— Meditations, Book 8.33
A fit character must be forged by acts, not words
— Meditations, Book X
The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts
— Meditations, Book 5
Do not let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same reason and arms as you do the present
— Meditations, Book VII, 8
When you have done well and another has benefited by it, why, like a fool, do you look for a third thing besides?
— Meditations, Book VII.73
Look at the inner quality, not the outer appearance.
— Meditations, Book VI
Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under your observation in life
— Meditations, Book 3, Section 11
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.
— Meditations, Book 5
A limit and a time is fixed for you, which if you do not use for clearing away the clouds from your mind, it will go and you will go, and it will never return
— Meditations II.4
Every living organism is fulfilled when it follows the right path for its own nature
— Meditations, Book 7.55
Each man lives only the present moment, and the present moment is all that he loses
— Meditations, Book II, 14
Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions
— Meditations, Book V, Section 16
So keep yourself simple, good, pure, serious, unpretending; a friend of justice, god-fearing, kind, full of affection, strong for your proper work
— Meditations 6.30
Bear in mind that the measure of a man is the worth of the things he cares about
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 3
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests
— Meditations, Book VII
Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art
— Meditations, Book 4
As the ruling principle shapes itself, so does life shape itself
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 16
To receive is natural; to lose is natural too. Don’t seek what is not your own
— Meditations, Book 12.26
Remember that to change your mind and follow someone who corrects you is just as consistent as to find your way after going wrong
— Meditations, Book 8
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations, Book X.16
Consider yourself to be dead, and to have completed your life up to the present time; now live out what remains according to nature
— Meditations 7.56
Consider how swiftly all things are obliterated: the bodies in the world themselves, and in time the remembrance of them in the world
— Meditations, Book VII
Time is like a 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
— Meditations, Book IV.43
Let your one delight and refreshment be to pass from one act of kindness to another, with God ever in mind
— Meditations, Book VI
Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life
— Meditations 2.5
Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them
— Meditations, Book 8
He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how
— Meditations, Book 7.64 (variant translation)
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. What if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall?
— Meditations, Book VII
He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and collected
— Meditations, Book X, 12
Consider at what price you sell your integrity; but please, for God’s sake, don’t sell it cheap
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 3
You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength
— Meditations, Book XII.36
When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger
— Meditations, Book 10, Section 30
The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one
— Meditations, Book 6.42
Let each thing you would do, say, or intend be like that of a dying person
— Meditations, Book II, 11
A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself
— Meditations, Book II, 2
If you are able, correct them; if not, bear with them
— Meditations, Book 8.20
Let your desires be ruled by reason
— Meditations, Book 6
Do not waste what remains of your life in fear and in avoidance of pain, for your mind will never be free unless you free it from such things.
— Meditations, Book 7.16
Poverty is the mother of crime
— Meditations IX.1
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book IV
When you are impatient, turn your thoughts to the rapid passage of time, and how all we are is dust and ashes: yesterday sperm, tomorrow a corpse.
— Meditations, Book 9, Section 36
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book 4.3
What is your art? To be good
— Meditations, Book 11
Every living organism is fulfilled when it follows the right path for its own nature
— Meditations, Book 7.55
Let your joy be in your actions, never in their outcome
— Meditations, Book 6.50
When forced, as it seems, by circumstances into utter confusion, get a hold of yourself quickly; do not wander out of the beaten track, but return to it at once
— Meditations, Book VI
Remember that your ruling reason becomes unconquerable when it rallies and relies on itself, so that it will not do anything against its will, even if its resistance is unreasonable
— Meditations, Book 8
Accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?
— Meditations, Book 4
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 hold any particular opinion about you
— Meditations 9.27
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. What if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall?
— Meditations 7.7
He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and collected
— Meditations, Book X, 12
Practice even what seems impossible
— Meditations, Book VI, 13
When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger
— Meditations, Book X, 30
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
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 47
Do not waste what remains of your life in concern over other people unless it affects the common good
— Meditations, Book 3:4
Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not, 'This is misfortune,' but 'To bear this worthily is good fortune.'
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 49
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book 4:3
How quickly all things disappear—bodies in the world themselves, and in time the memory of them in the world
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 21
Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly
— Meditations, Book 7.56
Receive without pride, let go without attachment
— Meditations, Book VIII
Soon you will have forgotten all things; soon all things will have forgotten you
— Meditations, Book VII
A king’s lot: to do well with the lot he's given
— Meditations, Book 6.42
Look within. Within is the fountain of good; and it will ever bubble up, if you will ever dig
— Meditations, Book 7.59
How quickly all things disappear—in the universe the bodies themselves, but in time the remembrance of them
— Meditations, Book 7
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
— Meditations, Book 8
The tranquility that comes when you stop caring what they say, or think, or do. Only what you do
— Meditations, Book IV
Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if you will ever dig
— Meditations, Book VII, 59
Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by
— Meditations, Book 2.11
Look deep into the inner self and never cease digging, for the wellspring of good rises up if you just keep searching
— Meditations, Book VII, 59
Leave other people’s mistakes where they lie
— Meditations, Book 9
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations, Book 7.61
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
— Meditations, Book VI
Whoever does wrong, wrongs himself; whoever does injustice, does it to himself, making himself evil
— Meditations, Book IX, 4
To welcome what comes as it comes, not wishing for anything else, for nothing can happen to a man which is not human destiny
— Meditations, Book 5.8
Regard everything as an exercise, so that nothing may come upon you unprepared
— Meditations, Book 10, Section 3
Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time; the twining strands of fate wove both together: your own existence and the thing that happens to you
— Meditations, Book 10:5
The mind in itself has no needs, except for those it creates itself
— Meditations, Book 7.16
Live not as though there were a thousand years ahead of you. Fate is at your elbow; make yourself good while life and power are still yours
— Meditations, Book IV
If someone is able to show me my error or point out what is right, I will gladly change; it is the truth I seek, and no one was ever hurt by the truth
— Meditations, Book VI.21
All things of the body stream away like a river; all the activities of fortune are in a whirl; all that belongs to the present is fleeting; all the fabric of fame is a dream
— Meditations, Book V
The universe is change; life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV
A man’s worth is measured by the worth of what he values
— Meditations VI.16
Life is short—the fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good
— Meditations, Book VI, 30
It is a disgrace in this life when the soul surrenders first before the body does
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 29
Run down the list of those who felt intense anger at something: the most famous, the most unfortunate, the most hated, the most feared, the most envied or those who inflicted or received the greatest injury. Where are they now? Smoke, ashes, a myth, or not even a myth
— Meditations, Book 12.27
The best answer to anger is silence
— Meditations, Book 6.29
A person’s worth is measured by the worth of what he values
— Meditations, Book VII, 3
If it is not fit, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not
— Meditations, Book 12.17
Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else
— Meditations, Book IX
Whatever time you choose is the right time; not late, not early
— Meditations, Book X
If it is not in your control, do not worry about it
— Meditations, Book 8
Let not your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you have already
— Meditations, Book 7.27
Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts
— Meditations, Book 5
The best way to keep good deeds in memory is not to throw them up to others
— Meditations, Book V
When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your purpose is to act as a human being
— Meditations, Book 5
Regard everyone as a companion in fate, and let your concern be for all mankind
— Meditations, Book 6.44
Cling to what is best in yourself, to reason and to justice, and keep them always to hand
— Meditations, Book 6.30
Observe how all things are continually being born of change; teach yourself to see that Nature’s highest happiness lies in changing the things that are and making others like them
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 36
Don’t hanker after what you don’t have. Instead, fix your attentions on the finest and best that you have, and imagine how much you would long for these if they weren’t in your possession
— Meditations, Book 7.27
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI, 7
Observe how all things are continually being born of change; teach yourself to see that Nature’s highest happiness lies in changing the things that are and making others like them
— Meditations, Book VII, 25
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
— Meditations, Book 8.47
A branch cut off from the whole must of necessity die; so too a man parted from another has lost what makes him a man
— Meditations, Book 11, Section 8
Everything that happens happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so
— Meditations, Book IV
How unsound and insincere is he who says, ‘I have made a resolution to be honest’; tomorrow he breaks it. But you ought to set out with the firm intention of having nothing but what is just and true in both word and deed
— Meditations, Book VII, 21
The things you think about determine the quality of your mind
— Meditations V.16
Let opinion be taken away, and complaint is taken away
— Meditations, Book 8
A fit character must be forged by acts, not words
— Meditations, Book 10, Section 8
Do not waste what remains of your life on what others are doing, unless it is for the common good
— Meditations 3.4
If you do the job in a principled way, with diligence, energy, and patience, if you keep yourself free of distractions and keep the spirit inside you undamaged, as if you might have to give it back at any moment—if you can embrace this without expecting anything, fearing anything, or depending on anything—then you will have lived a good life. And no one is able to stop you.
— Meditations, Book 3.12
No man is hurt but by himself
— Meditations, Book IV
Kindness is invincible, if it be sincere, free from hypocrisy or fawning
— Meditations, Book 11
How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life
— Meditations, Book VIII
No man is hurt but by himself
— Meditations, Book IV, Section 8
Do not act as your heart misgives you
— Meditations, Book 2.2
At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: I have to go to work—as a human being
— Meditations V.1
You are a little soul carrying about a corpse, as Epictetus used to say
— Meditations, Book 4.41
A king’s lot: to do well with the lot he's given
— Meditations, Book VI, 42
Perceive at last that you have in you something stronger and more divine than what causes the passions and pulls you like a puppet
— Meditations, Book V
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
— Meditations, Book VI, Section 30
The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts
— Meditations V.16
A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself
— Meditations, Book 2.2
Often when you think you are being wronged, you are being wronged by your own opinion
— Meditations, Book 7
Let your desire be for what you have, and dislike for what you don’t have be nullified
— Meditations, Book 6.16
Remember, your ruling self becomes unconquerable when it rallies and relies on itself, so that it will not do anything against its will, even if its resistance is unreasonable
— Meditations, Book 8.48
Let your principles be brief and fundamental, so that, when the time comes, you may be ready to do what is required
— Meditations, Book 4.51
Receive wealth or prosperity without arrogance; and be ready to let it go
— Meditations VIII.33
Soon you will have forgotten everything; soon everything will have forgotten you
— Meditations, Book VII
To do harm is to do yourself harm. To do an injustice is to do yourself an injustice—because you make yourself worse than you were before.
— Meditations, Book 9.4
Do not let future things disturb you, for you will come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with you the same reason which now you use for present things.
— Meditations 7.8
Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not, 'This is misfortune,' but 'To bear this worthily is good fortune'
— Meditations, Book 4.49
If someone does wrong, it is because he thinks it the right thing to do
— Meditations, Book 7.26
Receive without pride, let go without attachment
— Meditations, Book VIII, 33
Whatever time you choose is the right time. Not late, not early
— Meditations, Book 6
To receive an injury is to have it done to you; but to harbor resentment is to do injury to yourself
— Meditations, Book VI, 6
Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve
— Meditations Book 1.6
What leaves the mind at peace? Doing what is right
— Meditations Book 4.22
If it is not fitting, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it
— Meditations, Book 12.17
No man can escape his destiny, the next inquiry being how he may best live the time that he has to live
— Meditations, Book VII
As surgeons keep their knives and instruments always ready for some sudden need, so you should keep the doctrines of philosophy ready for the recognition of the divine and the human
— Meditations, Book III, 13
Everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be
— Meditations, Book IV
What we cannot bear removes us from life; what we can bear, we must bear. So remember: If it is endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining
— Meditations, Book 10, Section 3
Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life
— Meditations, Book 3
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is nature's delight
— Meditations, Book 12
Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter
— Meditations, Book 6
Consider how ephemeral all things are—both the body and the soul. Yesterday a drop of semen, tomorrow a handful of dust and ashes
— Meditations, Book IV
The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts
— Meditations, Book V
Time is like a river made up of the events which happen, and a violent stream; for as soon as a thing has been seen, it is carried away, and another comes in its place, and this will be carried away too
— Meditations, Book IV
Wherever a man can live, there he can also live well
— Meditations, Book V
Waste no more time talking about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations, Book X
A king’s lot: to do well with the lot he's given
— Meditations, Book 6, 42
Each of us needs what nature gives us, when nature gives it
— Meditations, Book 10
If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it
— Meditations 12.17
Whoever does wrong, wrongs himself; whoever does injustice, does it to himself, making himself evil
— Meditations, Book IX, Section 4
If someone does you harm, you should consider what notion of good or evil prompted him, for when you understand, you will pity him
— Meditations, Book 7.26
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
— Meditations, Book 4.22
Put an end once for all to this discussion of what a good man should be, and be one
— Meditations, Book 10.16
Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter
— Meditations, Book VI
Whatever happens to you is prescribed for you from eternity and unfolds according to fate
— Meditations, Book 5
The best revenge is not to be like your enemy
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 6
What stands in the way becomes the way
— Meditations, Book 5
Bear in mind that the measure of a man is the worth of the things he cares about
— Meditations, Book VII
Look not around at the depraved morals of others, but run straight along the line without deviating from the right path
— Meditations, Book VI
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
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 47
As surgeons keep their knives and instruments always ready for some sudden need, so you should keep the doctrines of philosophy ready for the recognition of the divine and the human
— Meditations, Book 3.13
Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art
— Meditations, Book 4.2
A man's worth is no greater than his ambitions
— Meditations, Book VII
Look at what is before you, the material for your action—what more do you want?
— Meditations, Book 8.32
Accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?
— Meditations, Book 7.57
The parts of the whole, everything I see and touch, is fleeting and soon to perish
— Meditations, Book VII, 23
All men are made one for another: either then teach them better or bear with them
— Meditations 8.59
Everything that happens is as ordinary and familiar as the rose in spring or the crop in summer
— Meditations, Book 4
Consider how quickly all things are dissolved and resolved into the elements from which they are compounded
— Meditations, Book 10.7
Wherever it is possible to live, it is possible to live well
— Meditations 5.16
Do not be ashamed to ask for help; it is your task to perform your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. And what if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall?
— Meditations, Book 7.7
A limit and a time is fixed for you, which if you do not use for clearing away the clouds from your mind, it will go and you will go, and it will never return
— Meditations, Book II, Section 4
The time you have is short. Use it to advance your enlightenment or it will be gone, and never return
— Meditations, Book IV
A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself
— Meditations, Book II, 2
Remember, your ruling self becomes unconquerable when it rallies and relies on itself, so that it will not do anything against its will, even if its resistance is unreasonable
— Meditations, Book VIII, 48
Perceive at last that you have in you something stronger and more divine than what causes the passions and pulls you like a puppet
— Meditations, Book 12, Section 19
When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger
— Meditations, Book X, 30
When you wish to delight yourself, think of the virtues of those who live with you
— Meditations, Book VI, 48
Remember that sometimes to change your mind and to follow someone who puts you right is also a duty
— Meditations, Book 6
All things are interwoven with one another; a sacred bond unites them
— Meditations, Book VII
When you wake up in the morning, ask: What is wrong with me, that I go grumbling to do what I was born for, and for the sake of which I was brought into the world?
— Meditations, Book V
How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy
— Meditations, Book IV
To live a simple and modest life; to be content with what you have, to seek justice, to love your neighbor, and to be prepared for whatever may come
— Meditations, Book 7.67
Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.
— Meditations, Book 7.59
Recall frequently how many physicians have died after knitting their brows over how many deathbeds, and how many astrologers after predicting the deaths of others with great solemnity
— Meditations, Book III, 3
Take pleasure in one thing and rest in it, in passing from one act of kindness to another, always remembering God
— Meditations, Book VI
Live a simple, modest, straightforward life. Be content with little, seek justice, love your neighbor, be prepared for death
— Meditations, Book 7.67
A man’s greatness lies in his ability to do what accords with his nature and the common good, no matter the circumstances.
— Meditations, Book VI, Section 30
No man can escape his destiny, the next inquiry being how he may best live the time that he has to live
— Meditations, Book VII
Let men see, let them know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live
— Meditations, Book 3.5
To refrain from imitation is the best revenge
— Meditations 6.6
Waste no time; you have only a little left. Live as if you were on a mountain. It makes no difference whether you live here or there, if you live everywhere in the world as a citizen of the world
— Meditations, Book X, Section 15
Let your actions be directed towards a single purpose, and let that purpose be the common good
— Meditations, Book 12.20
Consider that before long you will be nobody and nowhere, nor will any of those who are now alive
— Meditations, Book 7.21
Run down the list of those who felt intense anger at something: the most famous, the most unfortunate, the most hated, the most feared, the most envied or those who inflicted or received the greatest injury. Where are they now? Smoke, ashes, a myth, or not even a myth
— Meditations, Book XII
Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.
— Meditations, Book 4.3
The universe is change; life is perception
— Meditations, Book IV
Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant; all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed
— Meditations 3.10
The best way to guard yourself is with a mind that remains unconquered and content with whatever happens
— Meditations, Book VIII, 48
All is ephemeral, both what remembers and what is remembered
— Meditations 4.35
The happiness which comes from within depends on the state of your own mind
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 36
Think of the whole universe of matter and how small your share. Think about the expanse of time and how brief—almost momentary—the part marked for you
— Meditations Book V
You should not give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they do not care at all
— Meditations 7.38
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way
— Meditations, Book V.20
Let your acts be directed never to a frivolous or arbitrary purpose, nor yet to anything else but the good of society.
— Meditations, Book 9.6
Do what is right. The rest is in the hands of those who assign praise or blame. And what is praise or blame to you?
— Meditations, Book XII
Nowhere you can go is more peaceful—more free of interruptions—than your own soul
— Meditations, Book 4
Let your acts be directed toward the common good
— Meditations, Book IX, 31
It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own
— Meditations, Book XII.4
In everything you do, put justice first, and never let yourself be swept away by anger or affected by another’s injustice
— Meditations, Book 6.50
Let your one delight and refreshment be to pass from one act of kindness to another, with God ever in mind
— Meditations 6.42
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is nature's delight
— Meditations 12.21
Look round at the courses of the stars, as if you were going along with them, and think constantly of the changes of elements into one another
— Meditations, Book 7
Never value anything as profitable to yourself that you will have to break your word or lose your self-respect for it
— Meditations, Book 3.7
When you have assumed these names—good, modest, truthful, rational, a man of equanimity, and magnanimous—take care that you do not change these names; and if you should lose them, quickly return to them
— Meditations, Book X
Take away your opinion, and there is taken away the complaint, 'I have been harmed.' Take away the complaint, 'I have been harmed,' and the harm is taken away
— Meditations, Book IV
To stop talking about what the good man is like, and just be one
— Meditations, Book 10.16
A man's true delight is to do the things he was made for
— Meditations, Book VIII
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight
— Meditations XII.23
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it
— Meditations, Book XI, Section 18
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. What if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall?
— Meditations, Book VII
Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time; the twining strands of fate wove both together: your own existence and the thing that happens to you.
— Meditations, Book X
A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it
— Meditations, Book 4.3
If you seek tranquillity, do less. Or more accurately, do what’s essential
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 24
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
— Meditations, Book VI, 21
Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought
— Meditations, Book VIII
Think of the whole universe of matter and how small your share. Think about the expanse of time and how brief—almost momentary—the part marked for you
— Meditations, Book V, 24
Run down the list of those who felt intense anger at something: the most famous, the most unfortunate, the most hated, the most feared, the most envied or those who inflicted or received the greatest injury. Where are they now? Smoke, ashes, a myth, or not even a myth
— Meditations 12.27
Receive without pride, let go without attachment
— Meditations, Book 8.33
As surgeons keep their knives and instruments always ready for some sudden need, so you should keep the doctrines of philosophy ready for the recognition of the divine and the human
— Meditations, Book 3, Section 13
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.
— Meditations, Book 12
How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy
— Meditations, Book 4.18
Let your one delight and refreshment be to pass from one act of kindness to another, with God ever in mind
— Meditations, Book 6.42
The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury
— Meditations, Book VI, 6
Look at everything that exists, and observe that it is already dissolving, changing, and coming to an end
— Meditations, Book X
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. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone
— Meditations, Book VI
The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious
— Meditations, Book VII
Do not then consider life a thing of any value. For look at the immensity of time behind you, and to the time which is before you, another boundless space. In this infinity, what is the difference between him who lives three days and him who lives three generations?
— Meditations, Book 4.50
Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else
— Meditations, Book IX
Consider how much more pain is brought on us by our anger and vexation at the misfortunes than by the misfortunes themselves
— Meditations, Book XI, 18
Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
— Meditations, Book 10
Receive wealth or prosperity without arrogance; and be ready to let it go
— Meditations, Book VIII, 33
Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not, 'This is misfortune,' but 'To bear this worthily is good fortune.'
— Meditations, Book IV
To love even those who wrong us is the characteristic of a noble soul
— Meditations, Book 11.18
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. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone
— Meditations VI.52
The best way to avenge yourself is to not become like the wrongdoer
— Meditations, Book VI
The rational soul moves itself, and makes of every obstacle a means to its own purpose
— Meditations, Book VIII
Run down the list of those who felt intense anger at something: the most famous, the most unfortunate, the most hated, the most feared, the most envied or those who inflicted the most damage or received the greatest injury. Where are they now? Smoke, ashes, a myth, or not even a myth.
— Meditations, Book 12.27
Shame on the soul, to surrender when you are still strong
— Meditations 6.29
The universe is transformation: life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV, 3
Nowhere you can go is more peaceful—more free of interruptions—than your own soul
— Meditations, Book IV, Section 3
Is any man afraid of change? What can take place without change? Can you yourself take a hot bath without the wood being changed? Can you be nourished without the food being changed?
— Meditations, Book VII, 18
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in that it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall
— Meditations, Book VII.61
When injured, consider what notion of good or evil prompted the other; for when you understand, you will pity him, and cease either to wonder or to be angry
— Meditations, Book VII.26
It is a disgrace in this life when the soul surrenders first before the body does
— Meditations 6.29
As far as you can, get into the habit of asking yourself in relation to any action: ‘How will this affect me? Shall I regret it?’
— Meditations, Book VIII
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
— Meditations, Book 8.47
What does not make a man worse than he was, also does not make his life worse, nor does it harm him from without or within
— Meditations, Book IV, Section 8
As the mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacles to our acting, so too a rational being can turn each setback into material for his own success
— Meditations, Book 5.20
If it is not fitting, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not.
— Meditations, Book XII, Section 17
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI, 7
The perfection of moral character consists in this: to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, idleness, or pretense
— Meditations, Book VII, 69
Each of us needs what nature gives us, when nature gives it
— Meditations, Book 10.1
Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought
— Meditations, Book VIII, 51
To live a simple, modest, straightforward life, to be content with little, to seek justice, to love your neighbor, to be prepared for death – these are the marks of a good person
— Meditations, Book 6.30
Bear in mind that each of us lives only now, this brief instant; the rest is already gone or is yet to be
— Meditations, Book III
Consider how swiftly all things are obliterated: the bodies in the world themselves, and in time the remembrance of them in the world.
— Meditations 7.21
A man should be upright, not kept upright
— Meditations, Book III.5
If fame comes after death, I am in no hurry for it
— Meditations, Book 6
A cucumber is bitter? Then throw it away. There are brambles in the path? Then go round them. That is enough. Do not add, 'But why are such things found in the world?'
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 50
A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself
— Meditations, Book II, 2
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations, Book VII
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book VII
A fit character must be forged by acts, not words
— Meditations, Book X
Nature gives and then takes back, and to live well is to accept both with dignity
— Meditations, Book 12, Section 36
In all that you do, let there be nothing done at random, nor without a purpose
— Meditations, Book IV
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
— Meditations, Book 6
Waste no more time talking about what you should be and start being it
— Meditations, Book 12.1
Enough of this miserable life and whining and aping. Why be disturbed by anything at all?
— Meditations, Book IX, Section 37
How much time he who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks saves for himself, to attend to his own conduct
— Meditations, Book IV
He who does not value himself more highly than pleasures will never be worthy of respect
— Meditations V.5
You exist only in the present, not in the past or future; all else either has been lived or is uncertain.
— Meditations, Book 3.10
It is in your power to revoke at any moment
— Meditations, Book XII
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
— Meditations, Book 8.47
If someone is able to show me my error or point out what is right, I will gladly change. It is the truth I seek, and no one was ever hurt by the truth
— Meditations, Book VI
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
— Meditations, Book IV
Consider that before long you will be nobody and nowhere, nor will any of those who are now alive
— Meditations, Book X
Live through the present with complete awareness, and set yourself in right standing with the gods
— Meditations, Book XII, Section 1
If it is possible, teach others; if not, remember that kindness was given to you for moments such as these
— Meditations, Book IX
Anger cannot be dishonest
— Meditations, Book VII, 58
Throw away your books; stop letting yourself be distracted. That is not allowed. Instead, as if you were dying right now, despise your flesh. A mess of blood, pieces of bone, a woven tangle of nerves, veins, arteries. Consider what the mind is: reason
— Meditations, Book 2.2
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth
— Meditations, Book VI
No one loses any other life than the one he now lives, nor does one live any other life than that which he is losing
— Meditations, Book II
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your task to perform your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. And what if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall?
— Meditations 6.7
To love even those who wrong us is the characteristic of a noble soul
— Meditations, Book XI, 18
To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions
— Meditations, Book VI
What is your vocation? To be a good man
— Meditations 11.5
Receive without pride, let go without attachment
— Meditations, Book VIII
Let your principles be brief and fundamental, so that, when the time comes, you may be ready to do what is required
— Meditations 4.51
Observe how all things are continually being born of change; teach yourself to see that Nature loves nothing so much as to change existing forms and to create new ones
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 36
Leave other people’s mistakes where they lie
— Meditations, Book IX.20
Consider how many people who were once well known are now forgotten, and how many people who remembered them have long since died themselves
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 6
If you do your duty, nothing can prevent you from living according to reason
— Meditations, Book VI, 47
Think of the whole universe of matter and how small your share. Think about the expanse of time and how brief—almost momentary—the part marked for you
— Meditations, Book V
The only thing that isn’t worthless: to live this life out truthfully and rightly. And be patient with those who don’t
— Meditations, Book VI, 47
Take away your opinion, and complaint is taken away; the event itself does not produce pain, but the judgment about it does
— Meditations, Book VIII, 47
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is nature’s delight
— Meditations, Book 12, Section 21
To live each day as though your last. Never flustered, never apathetic, never attitudinizing
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 69
The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 42
When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, keep in mind it is your purpose to act as a human being. What have you to complain of if you are doing what you were born for?
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 1
Live each day as if it were your last, neither in violence, nor in torpor, nor in hypocrisy
— Meditations, Book 7.69
Let your inner self remain undisturbed and thus you will maintain your composure and peace even when confronted by trouble
— Meditations, Book V, Section 19
It is a disgrace in this life when the soul surrenders first before the body does
— Meditations, Book 6.29
A fit character must be forged by acts, not words
— Meditations, Book 10.8
He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe
— Meditations, Book 6.16
A limit and a time is fixed for you, which if you do not use for clearing away the clouds from your mind, it will go, and you will go, and it will never return
— Meditations, Book 2.4
Take care that you are not made into a Caesar, that is, dyed with the purple; for such things do happen
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 30
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations, Book VII, 61
How absurd and a stranger is he who is surprised at anything that happens in life
— Meditations 12.13
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations, Book X, Section 16
When you are offended by something, consider first what judgment of yours has been upset
— Meditations, Book XII
Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought
— Meditations, Book VIII
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations Book 7.61
When circumstances force you to lose your composure, quickly return to yourself, and don’t remain out of tune longer than you can help
— Meditations, Book 6.11
Let your principles be brief and fundamental, so that, when the time comes, you may be ready to do what is required
— Meditations, Book 4.51
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 57
To seek what is impossible is madness; and it is madness to expect the bad not to do wrong
— Meditations, Book XII, 16
To expect bad men not to do wrong is madness, for he who expects this desires an impossibility
— Meditations, Book IX, 42
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
— Meditations, Book IV
Anger cannot be dishonest
— Meditations XI.18
Receive without arrogance, let go without attachment
— Meditations Book VIII, 33
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
— Meditations 6.30
Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought
— Meditations, Book VIII, Section 51
He who sees himself clearly will neither value applause nor fear criticism
— Meditations Book VII
At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: I have to go to work—as a human being
— Meditations, Book 5.1
To live each day as though your last. Never flustered, never apathetic, never attitudinizing
— Meditations 7.69
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
— Meditations, Book VIII
Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 51
The memory of everything is very soon overwhelmed in time
— Meditations, Book VII
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 that judgment now
— Meditations, Book 8.47
Give yourself a gift: the present moment
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 56
Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it
— Meditations, Book 4
To love even those who wrong us is the characteristic of a noble soul
— Meditations, Book 11, Section 18
The first step: Not to be overcome by anything external. The second: To direct your actions always to a social purpose
— Meditations Book VII
If any man despises me, that is his problem. My only concern is not doing or saying anything deserving of contempt.
— Meditations 10.13
Shame on the soul, to surrender when you are still strong.
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 29
A little time, and you will have forgotten everything; a little time, and all will have forgotten you
— Meditations IV.19
Look at the stars often as if you were running alongside them
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 47
Does the sun try to do the work of the rain? Or Asclepius that of the harvest? Every star, every god, everything in the universe, has its proper place. Why not you?
— Meditations, Book 6.43
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests
— Meditations, Book VII
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in that it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall.
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 61
Nowhere you can go is more peaceful—more free of interruptions—than your own soul
— Meditations, Book IV
Whenever you want to cheer yourself, think of the virtues of those who live with you; for instance, the energy of one, the modesty of another, the generosity of a third, and so on
— Meditations, Book VI, 48
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 can’t tell good from evil
— Meditations, Book 2
Take pleasure in one thing and rest in it, in passing from one act of kindness to another, always remembering God.
— Meditations, Book VI, Section 42
As far as you can, get into the habit of asking yourself in relation to any action: ‘How will this affect me? Shall I regret it?’
— Meditations, Book 8.2
The memory of everything is very soon overwhelmed in time
— Meditations, Book VII, 21
If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it
— Meditations, Book XII, Section 17
The universe is transformation; life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV
The greater harm is to him who does the wrong than to him who suffers it
— Meditations, Book IX, 4
Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself
— Meditations 5.33
Enough of this wretched life and murmuring and apish tricks; why be disturbed by anything at all?
— Meditations 9.37
A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself
— Meditations, Book II, 2
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
— Meditations, Book 4
Where a man can live, there he can also live well
— Meditations, Book V, 16
The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to avoid finding oneself in the ranks of the insane
— Meditations, Book VI, 30
Give yourself a gift: the present moment
— Meditations, Book VIII, 44
He who does wrong does wrong against himself. He who acts unjustly, acts unjustly to himself, because he makes himself bad
— Meditations, Book 9.4
Consider that before long you will be nobody and nowhere, nor will anything which you now behold, nor any of those who are now alive
— Meditations 7.21
As the mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacles to our acting, so too a rational being can turn each setback into material for his own success
— Meditations, Book V, 20
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
— Meditations, Book IV
The mind in itself has no needs, except for those it creates itself
— Meditations, Book VII, 16
The best way to guard yourself is with a mind that remains unconquered and content with whatever happens
— Meditations, Book VIII
Everything that happens is either endurable or not. If it is endurable, then endure it. If it is not, then stop complaining; your destruction will mean its end as well
— Meditations, Book X
Give yourself a gift: the present moment
— Meditations, Book VII
Regard everything as an exercise, so that nothing may come upon you unprepared
— Meditations, Book 10, Section 32
Because your own strength is just the sum of those principles to which you adhere
— Meditations, Book III
Whatever happens to the body is neither better nor worse for the body; whatever happens to the soul is either better or worse for the soul
— Meditations, Book V, 19
The universe is transformation: life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV
To undertake nothing at random, nor for any end but the common good
— Meditations, Book 12.20
The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts
— Meditations 5.16
No one can lose either the past or the future; how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess?
— Meditations, Book 2.14
Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not, 'This is misfortune,' but 'To bear this worthily is good fortune'
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 49
Poverty is the mother of crime
— Meditations, Book IX, Section 36
You should not give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they do not care at all
— Meditations, Book 7
Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not, 'This is misfortune,' but 'To bear this worthily is good fortune.'
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 49
Consider that before long you will be nobody and nowhere, nor will anything which you now behold, nor any of those who are now alive
— Meditations, Book VII, 21
Look within, for within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if you will ever dig
— Meditations, Book 7
Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect
— Meditations, Book III
Life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV, 3
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
— Meditations, Book VIII, 47
Waste no more time talking about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations, Book 10
A branch cut off from the whole must of necessity die; so too a man parted from another has lost what makes him a man
— Meditations, Book VIII, 34
Poverty is the mother of crime
— Meditations, Book XI, 22
When you arise in the morning, think what labor you have to perform in the service of man
— Meditations, Book V, 1
To live happily is an inward power of the soul
— Meditations, Book 7.67
Remember that sometimes even to live is an act of courage
— Meditations, Book V, Section 20
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book VII
As far as you can, get into the habit of asking yourself in relation to any action: ‘How will this affect me? Shall I regret it?’
— Meditations, Book VIII
How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life
— Meditations 12.13
It is possible to act rightly, even in a palace
— Meditations, Book V, 16
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations, Book 7.61
A man should be upright, not kept upright
— Meditations, Book III, 5
Life is a warfare and a stranger’s sojourn, and after-fame is oblivion
— Meditations, Book 2
If you are able, correct them; if not, bear with them
— Meditations, Book 8.20
The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury
— Meditations, Book 6, 6
The universe is transformation: life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV
The wise man sees in the misfortune of others what he should avoid
— Meditations, Book X, Section 36
Consider that before long you will be nobody and nowhere, nor will any of those who are now alive
— Meditations 9.30
Remember that every man lives only this present moment: the rest either has been lived or is uncertain.
— Meditations, Book III
If you are doing what is right, never mind if you are freezing with cold or if you are falling asleep, or even if you are dying with thirst or hunger
— Meditations, Book 6, Section 22
To pursue the impossible is madness. But it is madness to expect the wicked not to do wrong
— Meditations, Book IX
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
— Meditations, Book 8, 36
When someone does you harm, you should consider what notion of good or evil prompted him, for when you understand, you will pity him
— Meditations VII.26
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in that it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall
— Meditations 7.61
Everything material soon disappears into the universal substance, and each soul into the universal reason, and memories of everything are soon extinguished in time
— Meditations, Book 7.10
When you have sinned, do not add to it by running away; rather, remain and be reformed
— Meditations, Book 9.20
To live happily is an inward power of the soul
— Meditations, Book 7.67
Whatever happens to you is for you. It was prescribed for you from the beginning
— Meditations, Book V, 8
When you have the power to benefit someone, why put it off?
— Meditations, Book 5.6
Because your own strength is just the sum of those principles to which you adhere
— Meditations, Book IV
Look at things as they are, producing themselves, living for a while, and then dying, and ask: What is it, what does it do, and why does it live and die?
— Meditations VIII.11
Anger cannot be dishonest
— Meditations, Book 7
If it’s endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining
— Meditations, Book X, Section 3
Live each day as if it were your last, neither in violence, nor in torpor, nor in hypocrisy
— Meditations, Book VII, 69
Look at the essence of a thing, not its outward appearance
— Meditations, Book VI, 13
No one loses any other life than the one he now lives, nor does one live any other life than that which he is losing
— Meditations, Book 2.14
A man's life is what his thoughts make of it.
— Meditations, Book IV
The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one
— Meditations, Book VI
To undertake nothing: at random, nor for any end but the benefit of society
— Meditations 12.20
Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life
— Meditations, Book III
Bear in mind that each of us lives only now, this brief instant; the rest is already gone or is yet to be
— Meditations, Book 3.10
Everything that happens is either endurable or not. If it is endurable, then endure it. If it is not, then stop complaining; your destruction will mean its end as well
— Meditations, Book 10.3
The mind that is free from passions is a fortress, and no place is stronger
— Meditations Book VIII
When you have assumed these social roles—son, brother, father, leader—remember that the doing of each is up to you
— Meditations Book V
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it
— Meditations, Book 11
Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by
— Meditations, Book II, 11
Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.
— Meditations, Book 7.59
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book VII.57
Consider yourself to be dead, and to have completed your life up to the present time; now live out what remains according to nature
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 56
Look at things as they are, for you will see that they are always changing and soon will be no more. Think how many changes you have already seen yourself. The world is a continual change; life is but what you deem it
— Meditations, Book 4, Section 3
No one loses any other life than the one he now lives, nor does one live any other life than that which he is losing
— Meditations, Book II
Receive without conceit, release without struggle
— Meditations, Book VIII, Section 33
Receive without pride, let go without attachment
— Meditations, Book VIII
How much trouble he avoids who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only to what he does himself, to make it just and holy
— Meditations, Book 4.18
To live happily is an inward power of the soul
— Meditations, Book 7.67
The sexual organs are given to us for procreation. But you find hearts and minds more pleasing than bodies, don’t you?
— Meditations, Book III, 16
A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself
— Meditations IV.21
Each day provides its own gifts
— Meditations, Book 6.41
The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts
— Meditations, Book 5
To undertake nothing at random, nor for any end but the common good
— Meditations, Book XII, Section 20
Remember that your ruling self becomes unconquerable when it rallies and relies on itself, so that it will not do anything against its will, even if its resistance is unreasonable
— Meditations, Book 8.48
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 in your possession
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 27
How unsound and insincere is he who says, ‘I have made a resolution to be honest’; tomorrow he breaks it. But you ought to set out with the firm intention of having nothing but what is just and true in both word and deed
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 21
Nature gives and then takes back, and to live well is to accept both with dignity
— Meditations, Book 8.56
Whoever does wrong, wrongs himself; whoever does injustice, does it to himself, making himself evil
— Meditations 9.4
The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book IV
Do not fear pain; neither keep it in your mind as if it were evil. It is only in your own mind where pain can become a misfortune or not
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 64
Dig within. Within is the wellspring of good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig
— Meditations, Book VII
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing
— Meditations 7.61
No one can lose either the past or the future; how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess?
— Meditations, Book II, Section 14
Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by
— Meditations, Book II.11 (paraphrased passage)
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in a siege. What if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall?
— Meditations VII.7
Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
— Meditations, Book 10
Let no man any longer hear you finding fault with palace life or your own
— Meditations, Book VIII
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI.7
No man is so fortunate that there will not be by his deathbed some who are pleased with what is going to happen
— Meditations, Book VIII, 49
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony exists
— Meditations, Book 7
It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live
— Meditations, Book 12.1
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your duty to fulfill your public task like a soldier in an assault on a town
— Meditations, Book 7.7
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.
— Meditations, Book V
Be neither whimsical nor hypocritical, nor double-tongued; let your choices be straightforward and consistent with justice
— Meditations, Book X
All things are intertwined with one another, a sacred bond unites them
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 9
Everything that happens, happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so
— Meditations, Book 4.10
The sexual organs are given to us for procreation. But you find hearts and minds more pleasing than bodies, don’t you?
— Meditations, Book VI, 13
Look not at what is said, but at what is done
— Meditations IX.16
Waste no more time talking about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations, Book X
Be content with what you are, and wish not change; nor dread your last day, nor long for it
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 45
Receive without pride, let go without attachment
— Meditations, Book VIII
All things are linked with one another, and this oneness is sacred; there is hardly anything that is isolated from everything else
— Meditations, Book 7.9
A limit and a time is fixed for you, which if you do not use for clearing away the clouds from your mind, it will go, and you will go, and it will never return
— Meditations, Book 2.4
A man's life is what his will makes it
— Meditations, Book 6.44
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI, 7
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
— Meditations, Book VI, 30
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it
— Meditations, Book 4.3
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
— Meditations, Book VIII, 47
Receive wealth and prosperity without arrogance; and be ready to let it go
— Meditations, Book VIII
Do not be ashamed to be helped; for it is your business to do your duty like a soldier in the assault on a town. What if, by being helped, you are able to scale the wall?
— Meditations, Book 7.7
Everything material soon disappears into the universal substance, and each soul into the universal reason, and memories of everything are soon extinguished in time
— Meditations, Book VII
The sexual organs are given to us for procreation. But you find hearts and minds more pleasing than bodies, don’t you?
— Meditations, Book 8.19
Do not waste what remains of your life in anxiety about others, unless it is to benefit them
— Meditations, Book 3
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.
— Meditations, Book 5
Do not waste what remains of your life in thoughts about others, when you do not refer your thoughts to some object of common utility
— Meditations, Book 3
Do not waste what remains of your life in anxiety about others, unless it is to benefit them
— Meditations, Book III
Nature gives and then takes back, and to live well is to accept both with dignity
— Meditations, Book VIII
Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 16
When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remind yourself that your duty is to be a human being
— Meditations, Book 5.1
Let not your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you have already
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 27
When you wake up in the morning, ask: What is wrong with me, that I go grumbling to do what I was born for, and for the sake of which I was brought into the world?
— Meditations, Book 5.1
No more wandering. You are not likely to read your own memoirs, or the acts of ancient Romans and Greeks. It is time to be a man and to live the life that belongs to you
— Meditations 10.16
How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life
— Meditations, Book VIII, Section 36
A limit and a time is fixed for you, which if you do not use for clearing away the clouds from your mind, it will go and you will go, and it will never return
— Meditations, Book 2.4
Consider at what price you sell your integrity; but please, for God’s sake, don’t sell it cheap
— Meditations, Book IV
All is ephemeral, both what remembers and what is remembered
— Meditations, Book IV, Section 35
No man can escape his destiny, the next inquiry being how he may best live the time that he has to live
— Meditations, Book VII, 46
If someone does wrong, it is because he is mistaken about what is good and evil
— Meditations, Book VII
The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts
— Meditations, Book 5, Section 16
Give yourself a gift: the present moment
— Meditations, Book 7
Let your mind constantly dwell on those by whom you have been rendered better
— Meditations, Book I
Each man lives only the present moment, and the present moment is all that he loses
— Meditations 2.14
All things are intertwined with one another, a sacred bond unites them
— Meditations, Book VII, 9
Waste no more time talking about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations, Book X
Is a world without pain possible? Then do not ask the impossible
— Meditations, Book IX
If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it
— Meditations, Book 12
Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art
— Meditations IV.2
Even the smallest of tasks, if done with attention, becomes valuable
— Meditations, Book 6
Every living organism is fulfilled when it follows the right path for its own nature
— Meditations, Book 8.19
Let your mind be accustomed to conceive all present events as happening exactly as they do according to nature
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 13
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.
— Meditations, Book 7, Section 8
The only thing that isn't worthless: to live this life out truthfully and rightly. And be patient with those who don't
— Meditations, Book 6.47
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do
— Meditations, Book VI
Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve
— Meditations, Book 1.6
Let the spirit within you be undisturbed by the movements of the flesh, whether in pleasure or in pain
— Meditations, Book V, 26
No man is hurt but by himself
— Meditations, Book IV.8
Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look
— Meditations, Book 7.59
What does not make a man worse than he was, also does not make his life worse, nor does it harm him from without or within
— Meditations, Book 4.8
Whatever anyone does or says, I must be emerald and keep my color
— Meditations, Book VII
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. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone
— Meditations, Book VI
Do not waste the remaining part of your life in thoughts about others, when you do not refer your thoughts to some object of common utility
— Meditations, Book III.4
Each day provides its own gifts
— Meditations, Book V, 33
To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony
— Meditations, Book 7.57
When you have done a good act and another has benefited, why seek a third thing—like praise or reward?
— Meditations, Book VII, 73
Receive without pride, let go without attachment
— Meditations, Book VIII, Section 33
Be like the rocky headland on which the waves constantly break. It stands firm, and around it the seething waters are laid to rest
— Meditations 4.49
To live a good life: We have the potential for it. If we can learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference
— Meditations, Book XI.16
Practice even what seems impossible
— Meditations, Book 6.13
No one is so fortunate as not to have someone stand by his deathbed and make some new and sinister remark about him
— Meditations, Book VIII, 51
Whoever does wrong, wrongs himself; whoever does injustice, does it to himself, making himself evil
— Meditations, Book 9.4
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one
— Meditations, Book 10
The sexual organs are given to us for procreation. But you find hearts and minds more pleasing than bodies, don’t you?
— Meditations, Book VI, 13
The first step: Not to be overcome by anything external. The second: To direct your actions always to a social purpose
— Meditations, Book VIII, 7
Think of the life you have lived until now as over and, as a dead man, see what's left as a bonus and live it according to Nature.
— Meditations, Book 7.56
Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve
— Meditations, Book I
A man's life is what his thoughts make of it
— Meditations, Book IV, 3
That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it good for the bee
— Meditations, Book VI
Bear in mind that the measure of a man is the worth of the things he cares about
— Meditations, Book 7
In everything you do, put justice first, and never let yourself be swept away by anger or affected by another’s injustice
— Meditations, Book 6
Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look
— Meditations, Book VII.59
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book XI.5
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book 11.7
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 that judgment now
— Meditations, Book VIII
You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
— Meditations, Book 6
It is a disgrace in this life when the soul surrenders first before the body does
— Meditations, Book VI
To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions
— Meditations 6.30
Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life
— Meditations, Book 3
Whatever happens to the body is neither better nor worse for the body; whatever happens to the soul is either better or worse for the soul
— Meditations, Book 8.56
A person's worth is measured by the worth of what he values
— Meditations, Book 7, 3
Let each thing you would do, say, or intend, be like that of a dying person
— Meditations II.11
Let your mind be superior to the pains and pleasures of life, and let it act according to justice, honesty, humility, and simplicity
— Meditations, Book IX
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts
— Meditations, Book V.16
Throw away your books; stop letting yourself be distracted. That is not allowed. Instead, as if you were dying right now, despise your flesh. A mess of blood, pieces of bone, a woven tangle of nerves, veins, arteries. Consider what the mind is: reason
— Meditations, Book 2.2
The universe is change; life is opinion
— Meditations, Book IV, 3
Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art
— Meditations, Book IV, Section 2
He who fears death will never do anything worth of a man who is alive
— Meditations, Book XII, 34
Let your impulse be ever determined by the need of mutual help, and departure from social service the only limit to your effort.
— Meditations, Book 9, Section 42
The sexual organs are given to us for procreation. But you find hearts and minds more pleasing than bodies, don’t you?
— Meditations, Book X, 2
The act of dying is one of the acts of life
— Meditations, Book 2
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 hold any particular opinion about you
— Meditations IX.27
No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now
— Meditations, Book 11.5
Life is opinion
— Meditations, Book II
Let each thing you would do, say or intend be like that of a dying person
— Meditations, Book 2.11
A man’s greatness lies in his ability to do what accords with his nature and the common good, no matter the circumstances
— Meditations, Book 6.44
In every action, ask yourself: How does this affect me? Shall I regret it? A little time and everything is forgotten, and all is as if it never was
— Meditations, Book 8, Section 2
How much trouble he avoids who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only to what he does himself, to make it just and holy
— Meditations, Book IV, 18
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts
— Meditations, Book V, Section 16
If someone does you wrong, teach him kindly and show him his error. But if you are not able, blame yourself, or not even yourself.
— Meditations Book X
From my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and the government of my temper
— Meditations, Book 1
When you have sinned, do not add to it by running away; rather, remain and be reformed
— Meditations, Book IX, 20
Let not your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you have already
— Meditations, Book VII, Section 27
If you are able, correct them; if not, bear with them
— Meditations, Book IX
The perfection of moral character consists in this: to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending
— Meditations, Book 7.69
The best answer to anger is silence
— Meditations 6.29
No one is so fortunate that there will not be by his deathbed some who are pleased with what is going to happen
— Meditations, Book 10.36
Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life
— Meditations, Book 7
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
— Meditations, Book 6, 30
No man can lose either the past or the future; how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess?
— Meditations, Book 2.14
When forced, as it seems, by circumstances into utter confusion, get a hold of yourself quickly; do not wander out of the beaten track, but return to it at once
— Meditations, Book 6.11
The mind that is free from passions is a fortress, and no place is stronger
— Meditations, Book VIII, 48
When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your purpose is to act as a human being
— Meditations, Book 5.1
Cling to what is best in yourself, to reason and to justice, and keep them always to hand
— Meditations 6.30
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests
— Meditations 5.19
To live each day as though your last. Never flustered, never apathetic, never attitudinizing
— Meditations, Book VII, 69
Receive every gift from fortune in a humble spirit, and be prepared to give it back to fate should she claim it
— Meditations, Book VII
Ask yourself at every moment, Is this necessary?
— Meditations, Book 4.24
Soon you will have forgotten all things; soon all things will have forgotten you
— Meditations, Book VII
The sexual organs are given to us for procreation. But you find hearts and minds more pleasing than bodies, don’t you?
— Meditations, Book 3, Section 16
A man’s greatness lies in his ability to do what accords with his nature and the common good, no matter the circumstances
— Meditations, Book VII
As surgeons keep their knives and instruments always ready for some sudden need, so you should keep the doctrines of philosophy ready for the recognition of the divine and the human
— Meditations, Book III.13
To undertake nothing at random, and not for any end except for the common good
— Meditations, Book XII
To live each day as though your last. Never flustered, never apathetic, never attitudinizing
— Meditations Book VII, 69
That which is not good for the bee-hive cannot be good for the bees
— Meditations, Book 6, 54
To live each day as though your last. Never flustered, never apathetic, never attitudinizing
— Meditations, Book 7.69
You are a little soul carrying about a corpse, as Epictetus used to say
— Meditations, Book IV, 41
When you have the power to benefit someone, why put it off?
— Meditations, Book 9, 29
The universe is change; life is mere opinion
— Meditations, Book IV.3