Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (/ɔːˈriːliəs/;[1] 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good Emperors (a term coined some 13 centuries later by Niccolò Machiavelli), and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161.
The Column and Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius still stand in Rome, where they were erected in celebration of his military victories. Meditations, the writings of "the philosopher" – as contemporary biographers called Marcus, are a significant source of the modern understanding of ancient Stoic philosophy. They have been praised by fellow writers, philosophers, monarchs, and politicians centuries after his death.
Quotes:
- “Adapt yourself to the life you have been given; and truly love the people with whom destiny has surrounded you.”
- “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.”
- “Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”
- “To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony.”
- “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking.”
- “Find joy in simplicity, self-respect, and indifference to what lies between virtue and vice. Love the human race. Follow the divine.”
- “It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinions than our own.”
- “Think of what you have rather than of what you lack. Of the things you have, select the best and then reflect how eagerly you would have sought them if you did not have them.”
- “The happiness and unhappiness of the rational, social animal depends not on what he feels but on what he does; just as his virtue and vice consist not in feeling but in doing.”
- “I can at once become happy anywhere, for he is happy who has found himself a happy lot. In a word, happiness lies all in the functions of reason, in warrantable desires and virtuous practice.”
- “To live happily is an inward power of the soul.”
- “No man is happy who does not think himself so.”
- “Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life.”
- “Happiness is no other than soundness and perfection of mind.”
- “Snow endures but for a season, and joy comes with the morning.”
- “He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.”
100+ Best Quotes of Marcus Aurelius:
part 1 of 6: Live your Life to the Fullest
part 2 of 6: Motivation
part 3 of 6: Love and Happiness
part 4 of 6: Controlling your anger and have a good life
part 5 of 6: Life Lessons
part 6 of 6: Inspirational
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