1,166 Quotes by Marcus Aurelius

All is as thinking makes it so.

It is a ridiculous thing for a man not to fly from his own badness, which is indeed possible, but to fly from other men’s badness, which is impossible.

There is no man so blessed that some who stand by his deathbed won’t hail the occasion with delight.

At day’s first light have in readiness, against disinclination to leave your bed, the thought that “I am rising for the work of man.”

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 raw material and use it to achieve its goal.

Death, like birth, is one of nature’s mysteries, the combining of primal elements and dissolving of the same into the same.

Everything is interwoven, and the web is holy; none of its parts are unconnected. They are composed harmoniously, and together – they compose the world.

My city and state are Rome. But as a human being? The world. So for me, “good” can only mean what’s good for both communities.

The world is a living being – one nature, one soul. Keep that in mind.