Marcus Aurelius Stan Quotations

Be like a headland of rock on which the waves break incessantly; but it stands fast and around it the seething of the waters sink to rest

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.

Direct thy attention to what is said. Let thy understanding enter into the things that are doing and the things which do them.

Constantly contemplate the whole of time and the whole of substance, and consider that all individual things as to substance are a grain of a fig, and as to time the turning of a gimlet .

Each of us lives only now, this brief instant. The rest been lived already, or is impossible to see. The span we live is small - small as the corner of the earth in which we live it.

And in the case of superior things like stars, we discover a kind of unity in separation. The higher we rise on the scale of being, the easier it is to discern a connection even among things separated by vast distances.

Today I escaped all circumstance, or rather I cast out all circumstance, for it was not outside me, but within my judgements.

Aptitude found in the understanding and is often inherited. Genius coming from reason and imagination, rarely.

Keep constantly in mind in how many things you yourself have witnessed changes already. The universe is change, life is understanding.

All things are the same, familiar in enterprise, momentary in endurance, coarse in substance. All things now are as they were in the day of those whom we have buried.

To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions.

A lucky chance is constant in nothing but inconstancy.

Remember that there is a God who desires neither praise nor glory from men created in his image, but rather that they, guided by the understanding given them, should in their actions become like unto him.

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

The substance of the universe is obedient and compliant; and the reason which governs it has in itself no cause for doing evil, for it has no malice, nor does it do evil to anything, nor is anything harmed by it. But all things are made and perfected according to this reason.

Nature which governs the whole will soon change all things which you see, and out of their substance will make other things and again other things... in order that the world may be ever new.

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.

Do you make a grievance of weighing so many pounds only instead of three hundred? Then why fret about living so many years only, instead of more? Since you are content with the measure of substance allowed you, be so also with the measure of time

There comes a time when you may have to call for help. Do we have a plan of substance in place? Yes. Are there things we need to explore further? Probably. Will we do so? Yes.

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.

As I was constantly told that my mistress Polla indulged in improper connection with a young libertine; I surprised them and found it was as proper as my own

Consider that thou dost not even understand whether men are doing wrong or not, for many things are done with a certain reference to circumstance. And, in short, a man must learn a great deal to enable him to pass a correct judgment on another man's acts.