Marcus Aurelius

“Detach yourself from everything with a smile, not with sadness.”

“Be attentive to small things. Great things are only accumulated small things.”

“The truth will set you free. A lie is a prison you build for yourself.”

“Even the warrior rests. Rest is preparation for battle, not a weakness.”

“Detach yourself from everything with a smile, not with sadness.”

“Be attentive to small things. Great things are only accumulated small things.”

“The truth will set you free. A lie is a prison you build for yourself.”

“Even the warrior rests. Rest is preparation for battle, not a weakness.”

“The more you learn, the more you measure the extent of your ignorance. That is wisdom.”

“Be patient like the seed waiting for spring. Everything comes in its time.”

“Do good and forget it. Good that awaits a reward is no longer quite good.”

“Do not be afraid of the unknown. The unknown is the territory where wisdom grows.”

“Give thanks each day. Gratitude is the cement of the soul.”

“Accept yourself as you are. That is the base on which you can build.”

“Keep your mind clear as the water of a mountain lake. Let nothing disturb it.”

“A simple gesture done with love is worth a thousand complicated gestures done without heart.”

“Fall seven times, rise eight. That is strength.”

“When evening comes, review your day. What was good, cultivate it. What was bad, amend it.”

“Your soul is an ocean. The waves on the surface do not trouble the depths.”

“Virtue is cultivated like a muscle. Every exercise strengthens it, every neglect atrophies it.”

“Look at the world with fresh eyes each morning. Yesterday is dead, today has just been born.”

“What is essential is always simple. The superfluous complicates everything.”

“Silence is the most powerful response to provocation.”

“Bend the bow of your will toward virtue. Even if the arrow does not hit the target, the effort has made you greater.”

“Even in the darkest night, seek the light. It is there, within you.”

“Do not seek the perfect path. Begin to walk, and the path will create itself.”

“Wisdom is not a destination—it is a way of walking.”

“Do your work as a human being, without complaint, without boasting, without waiting for reward.”

“Everything that happens is just. If you observe closely, you will see that it is so.”

“Your life is what your thoughts make of it. Change your thoughts, and you change your life.”

“See things as they are: dust, smoke, flowing water. Why become attached?”

“Learn to be sufficient unto yourself. That is the secret of peace.”

“In the morning, prepare your soul as you prepare your body. The hygiene of the mind is just as important.”

“Live according to nature. It is your only true guide.”

“Have the courage to change what you can, the serenity to accept what you cannot, and the wisdom to distinguish the two.”

“Speak little, but let every word be a seed of truth.”

“He who is bored does not look at the world attentively enough.”

“Death is neither good nor evil. It is a fact of nature, like the falling of leaves in autumn.”

“Be honest with yourself. That is the beginning of all wisdom.”

“Have the courage to be simple. Complexity is often a mask for ignorance.”

“Live each moment as if it contained eternity. Because it does.”

“True strength is silent. What makes noise is often fragile.”

“Time sculpts the soul as water sculpts stone. Patiently, inevitably.”

“There is no purer joy than that of duty accomplished.”

“The universe is a city of which all beings are citizens.”

“To age is to see the world with eyes that have wept much and smiled much.”

“Always act with a pure intention. The result is not in your hands, but the intention is.”

“The present is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”

“Love the whole of which you are a part. What is good for the whole is good for you.”

“The mind is like a wild horse. It must be tamed each day.”

“Dare to be happy. Happiness is an act of courage in a difficult world.”

“Let your soul sing in tune in the great symphony of the world.”

“Keep death in mind, not to sadden yourself, but to awaken.”

“Do not be proud of success, nor crushed by failure. Both are passing visitors.”

“Life is lent to you, not given. Return it graciously when asked.”

“Do good in silence. Noise ruins the beauty of the gesture.”

“The wise differ from the foolish in their ability to stay calm in the storm.”

“Thank adversity. It is your best teacher.”

“All human beings are brothers and sisters. What wounds one wounds the whole.”

“Calm is not innate. It is conquered each day, against the assaults of the world.”

“Live as a part of the great whole. Your small melody must harmonize with the cosmic symphony.”

“The best revenge is not to be like the one who wronged you.”

“What stands in the way becomes the way. The obstacle is the path.”

“Things do not touch the soul. They remain outside. Disturbance comes only from inner opinion.”

“Nowhere can a person find a retreat calmer and more peaceful than in their own soul.”

“Love only what happens to you and what is destined for you. What could be more fitting?”

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”

“Perform every action of your life as if it were your last.”

“When you find it hard to get up in the morning, tell yourself: I rise to do the work of a human being.”

“In a short time, you will be nothing, nowhere.”

“Do not live as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Destiny hangs over you.”

“Stop worrying about what others think of you. Look instead at what you think of yourself.”

“The true good is within you. Do not seek it elsewhere—you will not find it.”

“Stop debating what a good person should be. Be one.”

“What is beautiful is beautiful by itself. Beauty needs no praise.”

“Everything passes: glory, shame, wealth, poverty. Only virtue remains.”

“Hasten then, no longer to accumulate, but to simplify. The end is near.”

“Nature does nothing wrong. What you call evil is a good you do not yet understand.”

“Accept what you cannot change. Not from weakness, but from wisdom.”

“Human beings carry a divine spark within them. Live up to that spark.”

“Learn to say no. Even to yourself. Especially to yourself.”

“No one does evil knowingly. Evil is always born of ignorance.”

“Discover your deepest nature and live in harmony with it. Everything else is sterile agitation.”

“A right gesture is beautiful in itself, even if no one sees it.”

“What disturbs you is not the thing, but your opinion about the thing.”

“Do first what you must, then what you want. The order matters.”

“The wise can be alone without feeling lonely. They have within themselves the best of company.”

“Do not teach with words what you do not demonstrate with your actions.”

“Everything in the universe is bound by a sacred link. Nothing is isolated, nothing is foreign.”

“Life is short, wisdom is vast. Begin today.”

“The greatest empire is the empire over oneself.”

“Feed your mind with elevated thoughts. It will become what it consumes.”

“All pain eventually passes. What remains is what you made of it.”

“Desire only what depends on you. Everything else is a source of frustration.”

“The future does not exist. Only the present is real. Live it.”

“It is not the intensity of effort that counts, but its consistency. The drop of water wears away the stone.”

“To forgive is to free oneself of a weight. Resentment is a prison you build for yourself.”

“He who hopes also fears. Both are diseases of the soul turned toward the future.”

“The greater you are, the more modest you must be. The tallest tree bends in the wind.”

“When in doubt, choose justice. It is the surest of guides.”

“Anger is like a burning coal you hold in your hand to throw at another. You are the one who gets burned.”

“The sun rises for you as it does for every creature. Are you not as much as the sun?”

“When you are angry, you are no longer yourself. You become the anger.”

“Live this moment fully. It is the only point of contact between you and eternity.”

“The wise are rich in what they can do without.”

“Take up the habit of good. As the musician practices, practice virtue.”

“Your body is a garment you will leave behind. Do not become more attached to it than to a coat.”

“Each morning, prepare yourself mentally for the challenges of the day. Anticipate without anxiety.”

“No action is insignificant. Every gesture is a brushstroke on the canvas of your character.”

“Accept your imperfections. They are part of nature's design.”

“Life is a battle, and you are an athlete of the soul. Train every day.”

“Speak little, listen much. Silence is the school of the wise.”

“Bring order to your mind, and order will follow in your life.”

“The more you possess, the more you are possessed. Freedom lies in detachment.”

“Love your fate, whatever it may be. It is the path the gods have laid out for you.”

“The world is what your thought makes of it. Change your thought, and the world changes.”

“Do not ask why this is happening to you. Ask what you are going to make of it.”

“Consult death in every decision. It will tell you what truly matters.”

“An enemy can teach you more than a friend. The friend flatters you, the enemy reveals you.”

“Dare to be what you are. Nature made no mistake in creating you.”

“Serenity is not given to you—it is chosen in every moment.”

“Remember that everything you see will soon be destroyed. You too.”

“Build your character like an architect builds a temple. Stone by stone, day after day.”

“There is no failure, only unexpected results that teach you.”

“Practice virtue in small things. It is there that it truly reveals itself.”

“Treat your soul like a sacred temple. Let nothing impure enter it.”

“Do not waste your time—it is your only true treasure. Everything else can be regained.”

“Reason is the common good of humanity. Sharing reason is sharing the divine.”

“Always speak the truth, first to yourself. A soul that lies to itself is a sick soul.”

“Begin by governing yourself before wanting to govern others.”

“One who is a slave to their desires is free only in appearance.”

“Look at the stars, and see how small your problems are.”

“You could leave life today. Act accordingly.”

“Always act with an upright intention. The result does not belong to you.”

“Nature is the best of guides. It never makes mistakes.”

“Do good around you. Good is the only thing that multiplies when shared.”

“Be silent if you do not know. Silence is worth more than empty speech.”

“Do not wait for a reward for doing good. The good itself is the reward.”

“Do not look back. The past no longer belongs to you. Only the present is alive.”

“A friend is another self. Choose your friends with the care you would choose your own soul.”

“Nothing great is done in haste. The oak took a hundred years to grow.”

“Do not compare yourself to others. You have your own path, your own rhythm.”

“Rise each morning thanking the gods for being alive.”

“Nothing brings more peace than having done what is right.”

“Change is not an evil. Without change, nothing new could be born.”

“Be good, simply. Not for a reason, not for a purpose. Be good as the sun shines.”

“Do everything as if it were the last thing you do in life. With care, with love, with intensity.”

“Your mind is a garden. What you plant there will grow.”

“Simplicity is the highest sophistication. The wise need nothing to be happy.”

“It is in adversity that you know a person. Prosperity hides, misfortune reveals.”

“The wise are like a rock. The waves of fortune break against it without shaking it.”

“Seek to understand rather than to judge. Judgment closes, understanding opens.”

“Everything that happens is the raw material of virtue.”

“Time is a river that carries everything away. Hardly does a thing appear before it is swept away.”

“Take reason as your guide. It will never lead you astray.”

“Work, but without complaint, without boasting. Be useful to the city of humankind.”

“What is truly beautiful needs no ornament. Virtue suffices unto itself.”

“Do not play a role. Be what you truly are.”

“The soul can withdraw into itself at any moment, like closing a door.”

“Judge nothing until you have examined whether it is true, just, and useful.”

“Anger makes us lose our reason, and without reason, we are no longer human beings.”

“Humans are made for each other. Instruct them or bear with them.”

“Better to lose while staying just than to win by cheating.”

“You cannot flee your flaws. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.”

“Do good as if no one were watching. Even if no one is watching.”

“Leave life graciously, like the ripe olive that falls.”

“Everything you possess is lent to you by nature. She will take it back.”

“Look within. You will find a source of light that never goes out.”

“Live as if you were already a citizen of the great whole, not of a small town.”

“What is good for the hive is good for the bee.”

“Live with the gods. He who lives with the gods is he who accepts his destiny.”

“The soul can be invincible if it withdraws into its own citadel.”

“Pass the torch of life as in a relay race, without trying to hold on.”

“Live each day as a complete life. Put nothing off until later.”

“Rest lies within you. The outside world will never give you peace.”

“If someone is mistaken, instruct them kindly. If they persist, remember you have also been mistaken.”

“Everything that happens is as natural as honey made by bees.”

“If you suffer, it is because you judge it to be an evil. Remove that judgment, and the pain lessens.”

“Look inside. There lies the source of the good, ever springing up.”

“Practice leaving life without sadness, like the ripe olive that falls blessing the earth that bore it.”

“Do not be ashamed of what is true. Shame is a sickness of the soul that distorts reality.”

“You are a soul carrying a corpse, as Epictetus used to say.”

“The world is a single city. What other city could the human race claim?”

“If you stray, return quickly to yourself. Peace is nowhere else.”

“Do not let the thought of the future disturb you. You will face it with the same reason as today.”

“We are born to help each other, like two hands, two feet, two eyes.”

“A fig tree does not give figs in winter. Do not ask the impossible of yourself.”

“The universe is change; life is what our thought makes of it.”

“Follow nature. It will not deceive you.”

“No one does wrong willingly. Those who harm are mistaken about what is good.”

“Every obstacle is a lesson. What resists you reveals you to yourself.”

“If someone harms you, that is their problem. You, choose not to harm.”

“Everything is ephemeral: the one who remembers as much as the one remembered.”

“Nothing happens that is not in accordance with the nature of the whole. Accept it with gratitude.”

“Do not ask the gods to fulfill your desires. Ask them to free you from desire itself.”

“What the crowd thinks is of no importance. Only truth matters.”

“He who commits injustice harms himself more than his victim. He corrupts his soul.”

“What conforms to nature is never bad. Do not call it evil.”

“Do what your nature dictates. Act without looking back.”

“Enough of this miserable life, these complaints, these antics. Why trouble yourself?”

“Everything is beautiful to one who knows how to look. Even the cracks on an old wall.”

“Remember that you are a human being, and that your profession is to be good.”

“Let your reason be the master of your impulses.”

“The universe is change, life is opinion.”

“If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it.”

“You have lived as a citizen of the world. What does it matter to leave it after five years or fifty?”

“How many of those who applaud you today will have forgotten you tomorrow?”

“Be like the promontory against which the waves endlessly break. It stands unmoved.”

“Nothing happens to anyone that is not natural and in accordance with their destiny.”

“At dawn, when you struggle to rise, tell yourself: I rise to do my work as a human being.”

“Do not do what you disapprove of, do not say what is not true. Let your impulse be just.”

“Do not get angry at things. They do not care.”

“Everything that happens is as natural as a rose in spring or fruit in summer.”

“It is not the result that counts, but the uprightness of the intention.”

“Look at the speed with which everything vanishes: bodies in time, their memory in eternity.”

“Ensure your life is simple, as the life of a rational being should be.”

“Things do not disturb us, but the opinion we have of them.”

“Do not dream of being Caesar. Be content with being a good person.”

“Seek the good not in external things, but within yourself.”

“The best revenge is not to resemble the one who offended you.”

“The present is the only thing you can be deprived of, since it is the only thing you possess.”

“Love humanity. Follow reason. These two principles suffice.”

“Do not let yourself be tossed about by impressions. Examine them calmly.”

“What is true is simple. What is complicated often hides an error.”

“See things as they are, not as you would like them to be.”

“Habit is the most powerful of forces. It shapes character with the regularity of a sculptor.”

“Do not expect Plato's Republic. Be content with the smallest progress.”

“Never complain about what you can change.”

“Do good without expecting anything in return, like the vine that gives its grapes without asking.”

“In the morning when you struggle to get up, tell yourself: I rise to do the work of a human being.”

“You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”

“What stands in the way becomes the way. The obstacle is the path.”

“The perfect tranquility of the soul consists in not being troubled by external things.”

“Stop wasting time debating what a good man should be. Be one.”

“At dawn, when you wake, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be ungrateful, violent, selfish. But I will not be like them.”

“Things do not touch the soul. They remain motionless outside. Disturbances come only from inner opinion.”

“Perform every action of your life as if it were your last.”

“Death, like birth, is a mystery of nature. It is neither good nor evil.”

“Do not be troubled by the future. You will face it, if need be, with the same reason you use today.”

“Love what happens to you, for nothing happens without reason in the order of the universe.”

“How long will the one who offended you live? And you? What use is anger?”

“Observe how all things transform. Nothing truly perishes—everything metamorphoses.”

“Hasten to live well, and remember that each day is a whole life in itself.”

“Remove the judgment, and the harm is removed.”

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”

“Stop hoping that others become what you want them to be. Become it yourself.”

“All things are linked, all things are interwoven. Nothing is foreign to anything else.”

“Do not worry about what others think. You know what you are worth.”

“Act, speak, think always as a person who could leave life at any moment.”

“What is natural is beautiful. The galloping horse, the foraging bee. It is their nature that makes them beautiful.”

“Nowhere can a person find a calmer retreat than in their own soul.”

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”