Thanks to his writings in ‘Meditations,’ Marcus Aurelius is one of the most well known Stoic philosophers. Marcus was the emperor of Rome from 161 to 180. Even though his reign was bookmarked by the Antonine Plague and plenty of conflicts, Marcus was still beloved by the people of Rome.
Here are ten of my favorite quotes from the famous Stoic philosopher:
“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
“Remember how long thou hast been putting off these things, and how often thou has received an opportunity from the gods, and yet dost use it.”
“Take away thy opinion, and then there is taken away the complaint, ‘I have been harmed.’ Take away the complaint, ‘I have been harmed,’ and the harm is taken away.”
“In the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present — I am rising to do the work of a human being. Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for which I exist and for which I was brought into this world?”
“That which is not good for the swarm, neither is good for the bee.”
“And consider that as the heaps of sand piled on one another hide the former sand, so in life the events which go before are soon covered by those which come after.”
“Receive [wealth or prosperity] without arrogance; and be ready to let it go.”
“Dost thou wish to be praised by a man who curses himself thrice every hour?”
“And further, he who is afraid of pain will sometimes also be afraid of some of the things which will happen in the world.”
“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.”