Marcus Aurelius Quotes Page 2


 
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Best 64 Quotes by Marcus Aurelius – Page 2 of 3

“Practice really hearing what people say. Do your best to get inside their minds.”

“Refer your action to no other end than the common good.”

“So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?”

“Stop wishing for something else to happen, for a different fate. That is to live a false life.”

“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in so far as it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall.”

“The best answer to anger is silence.”

“The first thing a pretender to philosophy must do is get rid of their presuppositions; a person is not going to undertake to learn anything that they think they already know.”

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

“The man who spends his time choosing one resort after another in a hunt for peace and quiet, will in every place he visits find something to prevent him from relaxing.”

“The mind in itself has no needs, except for those it creates itself. Is undisturbed, except for its own disturbances. Knows no obstructions, except those from within.”

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

“The true man is revealed in difficult times. So when trouble comes, think of yourself as a wrestler whom God, like a trainer, has paired with a tough young buck. For what purpose? To turn you into Olympic-class material. But this is going to take some sweat to accomplish.”

“To have contemplated human life for forty years is the same as to have contemplated it for ten thousand years. For what more will you see?”

“Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions – not outside.”

“Today I escaped from the crush of circumstances, or better put, I threw them out, for the crush wasn’t from outside me but in my own assumptions.”

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“One could say that what differentiates ancient from modern philosophy is the fact that, in ancient philosophy, it was not only Chrysippus or Epicurus who, just because they had developed a philosophical discourse, were considered philosophers. Rather, every person who lived according to the precepts of Chrysippus or Epicurus was every bit as much a philosopher as they.”


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“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”

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

“Waste no more time thinking about what a good person should be, just be one.”

“When they’re really possessed by what they do, they’d rather stop eating and sleeping than give up practicing their arts.”

“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love...”

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”

“When you face someone’s insults, hatred, whatever... look at his soul. Get inside him. Look at what sort of person he is.

You’ll find you don’t need to strain to impress him.”

“Whenever externals are more important to you than your own integrity, then be prepared to serve them the remainder of your life.”

“Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?”

“Why are we still lazy, indifferent and dull? Why do we look for excuses to avoid training and exercising our powers of reason?”

“Why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice?”

“You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you.”

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

“Your life is an expression of all your thoughts.”

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“Do not engage an enemy more powerful than you. And if it is unavoidable and you do have to engage, then make sure you engage it on your terms, not on your enemy's terms.”


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