Stoic
Μάρκος Αὐρήλιος
121 – 180 CE · Rome
Roman emperor from 161 to 180 CE, who wrote private notes to himself in Greek, now called the Meditations. They were not written for publication and record a ruler’s effort to apply Stoic teachings amid war, plague and the demands of office.
Begin the morning by telling yourself: today I will meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, arrogant and dishonest. Yet none of them can harm me, for we are made to work together, like hands, feet and eyelids.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, II.1
Paraphrase and reference awaiting verification against the source.
People seek retreats in the country, at the seashore or in the hills; but you can retreat into yourself whenever you choose.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, IV.3
Paraphrase and reference awaiting verification against the source.
At dawn, when you are reluctant to get up, remind yourself that you are rising to do the work of a human being. Were you made to lie warm under the blankets?
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, V.1
Paraphrase and reference awaiting verification against the source.
Take care not to be turned into a Caesar, not to be dyed in that colour; keep yourself simple, good, pure and serious.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, VI.30
Paraphrase and reference awaiting verification against the source.
The best way of avenging yourself is not to become like the one who wronged you.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, VI.6
Paraphrase and reference awaiting verification against the source.
No longer talk at all about what kind of person a good person ought to be, but be one.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, X.16
Paraphrase and reference awaiting verification against the source.
Time is a kind of river of passing events, a strong current; no sooner is a thing seen than it is swept away and another takes its place.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, IV.43
Paraphrase and reference awaiting verification against the source.
Compare Heraclitus on the river.
The first book of the Meditations lists what Marcus learned from each person in his life: from his grandfather, gentleness; from his mother, piety and simple living; and so on.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, I.1–17
Paraphrase and reference awaiting verification against the source.
Stoic (3rd c. BCE onward). Living in agreement with nature and reason, distinguishing what is up to us from what is not.