Marcus Aurelius Soul Quotations

Things themselves cannot touch the soul, not in the least degree, nor have they admission to the soul nor can they turn or move the soul: it turns and moves itself alone and whatever judgment it may think proper to make, such it makes by remaking for itself the things that present themselves to it

Are you distracted by outward cares? Then allow yourself a space of quiet wherein you can add to your knowledge of the Good and learn to curb your restlessness. Nowhere can a man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul. Avail yourself often, then, of this retirement, and so continually renew yourself.

Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web.

Outward objects cannot take hold of the soul, nor force their passage into her, nor set any of her wheels going. No, the impression comes from herself, and it is her own motions which affect her. As for the contingencies of fortune, they are either great or little, according to the opinion she has of her own strength.

Your manners will depend very much upon the quality of what you frequently think on; for the soul is as it were tinged with the colour and complexion of thought.

Every soul, the philosopher says, is involuntarily deprived of truth; consequently in the same way it is deprived of justice and temperance and benevolence and everything of the kind. It is most necessary to keep this in mind, for thus thou wilt be more gentle towards all.

"Sweep me up and send me where you please." For there I will retain my spirit, tranquil and content, as long as it can feel and act in harmony with its own nature. Is a change of place enough reason for my soul to become unhappy and worn, for me to become depressed, humbled, cowering, and afraid? Can you discover any reasons for this?

Never forget that the universe is a single living organism possessed of one substance and one soul, holding all things suspended in a single consciousness and creating all things with a single purpose that they might work together spinning and weaving and knotting whatever comes to pass.

Wilt thou, then, my soul, never be good and simple and one and naked, more manifest than the body which surrounds thee?

To them that ask: Where hast thou seen the Gods, or how knowest thou certainly that there be Gods, that thou art so devout in their worship? I answer: Neither have I seen my own soul, and yet I respect and honor it.

In man's life, time is but a moment; being, a flux; sense is dim; the material frame corruptible; soul, an eddy of breath; fortune a thing inscrutable, and fame precarious.

It is a shameful thing for the soul to faint while the body still perseveres.

The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.

Things can never touch the soul, but stand inert outside it, so that disquiet can arise only from fancies within.

A man is a little soul carrying around a courpse.

I consist of a little body and a soul.

If souls continue to exist, how does the air contain them from eternity?

It will suffice thee to remember as concerning pain ... that the mind may, by stopping all manner of commerce and sympathy with the body, still retain its own tranquility.

The universe is a single life comprising one substance and one soul.

Your mind will take on the character of your most frequent thoughts: souls are dyed by thoughts.

Thou art a little soul bearing about a corpse.

Neither in thy actions be sluggish nor in thy conversation without method, nor wandering in thy thoughts, nor let there be in thy soul inward contention nor external effusion, nor in life be so busy as to have no leisure.

Consider in what condition both in body and soul a man should be when he is overtaken by death; and consider the shortness of life, the boundless abyss of time past and future, the feebleness of all matter.

It is a shame for the soul to be first to give way in this life, when thy body does not give way.

Live with the gods. And he does so who constantly shows them that his soul is satisfied with what is assigned to him.

Whoever values peace of mind and the health of the soul will live the best of all possible lives.

The one thing worth living for is to keep one's soul pure.

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

Waste no more time talking about great souls and how they should be, become one yourself!

Body. Soul. Mind. Sensations: the body. Desires: the soul. Reasoning: the mind.

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.

Failure to read what is happening in another's soul is not easily seen as a cause of unhappiness: but those who fail to attend the motions of their own soul are necessarily unhappy.

The soul is dyed by the thoughts. Dye it then, with a continuous series of such thoughts as these - that where a man can live, there - if he will - he can also live well.

You are a little soul carrying about a corpse, as Epictetus used to say.

The world is a living being - one nature, one soul. Keep that in mind.

Withdraw to the untroubled quietude deep within the soul, and refresh yourself.

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.