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:
- “If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.”
- “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”
- “To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions.”
- “Look deeply. Don't miss the inherent quality and value of everything.”
- “Give thyself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around.”
- “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 yours.”
- “Be content to seem what you really are.”
- “Receive without conceit, release without struggle.”
- “Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.”
- “The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.”
- “Pleasures, when they go beyond a certain limit, are but punishments.”
- “He who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time, and also cheerful and collected.”
- “If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed. It is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance who is harmed.”
- “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.”
- “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
- “You’re better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve.”
- 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.’
- “Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.”
- “Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible.”
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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