80 Marcus Aurelius Quotes for Modern Minds

Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher, remains a source of timeless wisdom and insight through his meditations and writings. Born in 121 AD, Aurelius became the ruler of the Roman Empire from 161 to 180 AD. However, his enduring legacy isn’t just as an emperor, but as a philosopher who imparted profound lessons on virtue, humility, and the art of living a meaningful life. His meditations, written as a personal journal, offer guidance and reflections on various aspects of human existence that continue to resonate with modern minds. Let us explore the wisdom and virtue with these thought-provoking Marcus Aurelius quotes.

Marcus Aurelius Quotes

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

2. “Don’t be overheard complaining… Not even to yourself.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

3. “Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to live… while you have life in you, while you still can, make yourself good.”~ Marcus Aurelius

4. “You can commit injustice by doing nothing.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

5. “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

6. “You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
7. “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.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
8. “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them. Think constantly on the changes of the elements into each other, for such thoughts wash away the dust of earthly life.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
9. “A person’s worth is measured by the worth of what he values.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
10. “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Stoic Quotes

11. “If any man despises me, that is his problem. My only concern is not doing or saying anything deserving of contempt.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
12. “Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
13. “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
14. “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.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
15. “Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
16. “The memory of everything is very soon overwhelmed in time.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
17. “Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
18. “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
19. “The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
20. “Dig deep within yourself, for there is a fountain of goodness ever ready to flow if you will keep digging.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Quotes by Marcus Aurelius

21. “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
22. “How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
23. “A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
24. “Let each thing you would do, say, or intend, be like that of a dying person.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
25. “No random actions, none not based on underlying principles.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
26. “If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
27. “It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
28. “Stick to what’s in front of you – idea, action, utterance.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
29. “Let men see, let them know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
30. “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Quotes on Life

31. “Life is short — the fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
32. “The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, because an artful life requires being prepared to meet and withstand sudden and unexpected attacks.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
33. “The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
34. “Live out your life in truth and justice, tolerant of those who are neither true nor just.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
35. “The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
36. “Think of the life you have lived until now as over and, as a dead man, see what’s left as a bonus and live it according to Nature. Love the hand that fate deals you and play it as your own, for what could be more fitting?” ~ Marcus Aurelius
37. “Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
38. “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
39. “Stay calm and serene regardless of what life throws at you.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
40. “Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Quotes

41. “[I have learned] To read with diligence; not to rest satisfied with a light and superficial knowledge, nor quickly to assent to things commonly spoken of.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
42. “You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don’t care at all.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
43. “It is the responsibility of leadership to work intelligently with what is given, and not waste time fantasizing about a world of flawless people and perfect choices.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
44. “The mind freed from passions is an impenetrable fortress—a person has no more secure place of refuge for all time.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
45. “That cucumber is bitter, so toss it out! There are thorns on the path, then keep away! Enough said. Why ponder the existence of nuisance?” ~ Marcus Aurelius
46. “Whenever someone has done wrong by you, immediately consider what notion of good or evil they had in doing it. For when you see that, you’ll feel compassion, instead of astonishment or rage.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
47. “Choose not to be harmed, and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed, and you haven’t been.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
48. “How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
49. “It isn’t manly to be enraged. Rather, gentleness and civility are more human, and therefore manlier. The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
50. “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?” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Best Marcus Aurelius Quotes

51. “Treat whatever happens as wholly natural; not novel or hard to deal with; but familiar and easily handled.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
52. “All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment: action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
53. “Don’t be ashamed of needing help. You have a duty to fulfill just like a soldier on the wall of battle. So what if you are injured and can’t climb up without another soldier’s help?” ~ Marcus Aurelius
54. “Whatever anyone does or says, for my part I’m bound to the good. In the same way an emerald or gold or purple might always proclaim: whatever anyone does or says, I must be what I am and show my true colors.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
55. “The best answer to anger is silence.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
56. “Give thyself leisure to learn some good thing, and cease roving and wandering to and fro.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
57. “Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
58. “Wherever a person can live, there one can also live well.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
59. “Don’t return to philosophy as a task-master, but as patients seek out relief in a treatment of sore eyes, or a dressing for a burn, or from an ointment. Regarding it this way, you’ll obey reason without putting it on display and rest easy in its care.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
60. “The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Quotes

61. “Pass through this brief patch of time in harmony with nature, and come to your final resting place gracefully, just as a ripened olive might drop, praising the earth that nourished it and grateful to the tree that gave it growth.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
62. “I learned to read carefully and not be satisfied with a rough understanding of the whole, and not to agree too quickly with those who have a lot to say about something.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
63. “You have been formed of three parts—body, breath, and mind. Of these, the first two are yours insofar as they are only in your care. The third alone is truly yours.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
64. “That which isn’t good for the hive, isn’t good for the bee.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
65. “Everything that happens, happens as it should, and if you observe carefully you will find this to be so.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
66. “Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not ‘This is misfortune,’ but ‘To bear this worthily is good fortune.’” ~ Marcus Aurelius
67. “We live only now. Everything else is either passed or is unknown.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
68. “To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
69. “Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
70. “What we do now echoes in eternity.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Meditations Quotes

71. “This is the mark of perfection of character—to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
72. “Every living organism is fulfilled when it follows the right path for its own nature.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
73. “Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
74. “For it is in your power to retire into yourself whenever you choose.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
75. “Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
76. “Receive without conceit, release without struggle.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
77. “You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can’t control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
78. “There is no nature which is inferior to art, for the arts imitate the nature of things.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
79. “Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
80. “Often injustice lies in what you aren’t doing, not only in what you are doing.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

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