Marcus Aurelius

Life itself is neither good nor evil, but only a place for good and evil.

Skutki gniewu są o wiele poważniejsze od jego przyczyny.

Our Lives are what our thoughts make of it

Nothing befalls a man except what is in his nature to endure.

Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.

It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.

This Being of mine, whatever it really is, consists of a little flesh, a little breath, and the part which governs.

Thou wilt find rest from vain fancies if thou doest every act in life as though it were thy last.

As for life, it is a battle and a sojourning in a strange land; but the fame that comes after is oblivion.

As surgeons keep their instruments and knives always at hand for cases requiring immediate treatment, so shouldst thou have thy thoughts ready to understand things divine and human, remembering in thy every act, even the smallest, how close is the bond that unites the two.

By a tranquil mind I mean nothing else than a mind well ordered.

The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.

Nothing can come out of nothing, any more than a thing can go back to nothing.

Whatever happens at all happens as it should; thou wilt find this true, if thou shouldst watch closely.

Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.

Whatever is in any way beautiful hath its source of beauty in itself, and is complete in itself; praise forms no part of it. So it is none the worse nor the better for being praised.

Let thine occupations be few," saith the sage, "if thou wouldst lead a tranquil life.

Love the little trade which thou hast learned, and be content therewith. 354.Remember this,--that there is a proper dignity and proportion to be observed in the performance of every act of life.

All is ephemeral,--fame and the famous as well.

Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.

That which comes after ever conforms to that which has gone before.

Deem not life a thing of consequence. For look at the yawning void of the future, and at that other limitless space, the past.

Nothing happens to anybody which he is not fitted by nature to bear.

Look beneath the surface; let not the several quality of a thing nor its worth escape thee.

What is not good for the swarm is not good for the bee.

Just as the sand-dunes, heaped one upon another, hide each the first, so in life the former deeds are quickly hidden by those that follow after.

Remember this,--that very little is needed to make a happy life.

Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought.

A wrong-doer is often a man that has left something undone, not always he that has done something.

Things that have a common quality ever quickly seek their kind.

The happiness and unhappiness of the rational, social animal depends not on what he feels but on what he does; just as his virtue and vice consist not in feeling but in doing.

Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it.... Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.

Remember that what pulls the strings is the force hidden within; there lies the power to persuade, there the life,--there, if one must speak out, the real man.

No form of Nature is inferior to Art; for the arts merely imitate natural forms.

If it is not seemly, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not.

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.

The art of living is more like that of wrestling than of dancing; the main thing is to stand firm and be ready for an unseen attack.

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

Every man's life lies within the present; for the past is spent and done with, and the future is uncertain.

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 opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.

Zajrzyj w siebie! W Twoim wnętrzu jest źródło, które nigdy nie wyschnie, jeśli potrafisz je odszukać.

Każdą pracę wykonuj, jakby miała ona być ostatnią w życiu.

Zamiast opowiadać jaki powinien być przykładny obywatel należy nim być.

He who has seen present things has seen all, both everything which has taken place from all eternity and everything which will be for time without end; for all things are of one kin and of one form.

Najlepszą zemstą jest być niepodobnym do tego, co szkodę [ci] wyrządził.

The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.

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

Nigdy nie pozwól, aby przyszłość ci przeszkadzała. Spotkasz się z nią, jeśli będziesz musiał, z tą samą bronią rozumu, która dziś uzbroiła cię przeciwko teraźniejszości.

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.

The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.