Best Marcus Aurelius Quotes

Marcus Aurelius Quotes About Life, Love, Death, Leadership, Success, Change, Work, Stoicism & Purpose! Known as the “Five Good Emperor,” Marcus Aurelius protected the Roman Empire against the Parthians and Germans from 161 to 180. Marcus Aurelius, one of the most renowned Roman emperors, is most recognized for his rule based on logic and his intellectual interest in Stoicism – a philosophy of personal ethics inspired by a system of logic.

On April 26, 121, the future Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius was born in Rome, Italy. As a child, Aurelius had a lifelong passion for study and became fluent in Latin and Greek. Aurelius rose to the position of consul in 140, a position he would occupy twice more throughout his career. His role in Antoninus’s life grew steadily over time as he gained more significant duties and official authority. Additionally, Aurelius considered a career in law after resuming his philosophical studies.

Following the death of his adopted father, Aurelius became known as Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus. While Antoninus had ruled peacefully and prospered, his two brothers’ reign was ruined by conflict and sickness. Both emperors had to fight a new battle with German tribes in the late 160s century after the Parthian War. Aurelius appointed his son Commodus as co-ruler in 177 while engaged in yet another battle against the German tribes. In the fight against the northern opponents of the empire, they worked together.

On March 17, 180, Marcus Aurelius died. Marcus Aurelius is known more for his thoughtful temperament and his reign guided by reason than for the battles he fought. Epictetus influenced meditations, Marcus Aurelius’ most incredible philosophical book. There are 12 volumes in this collection of personal writings, including notes and reflections on Stoicism.

Best Marcus Aurelius Quotes

1. To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony. – Marcus Aurelius

2. “A person’s worth is measured by the worth of what he values.” ― Marcus Aurelius

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

4. Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight. – Marcus Aurelius

5. “Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil.” ― Marcus Aurelius

6. 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

7. How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it. – Marcus Aurelius

8. “Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to throw away. Death stands at your elbow. Be good for something while you live and it is in your power.” ― Marcus Aurelius

9. Time is a river, a violent current of events, glimpsed once and already carried past us, and another follows and is done. – Marcus Aurelius

10. 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

11. Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. ― Marcus Aurelius

12. You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. ― Marcus Aurelius

13. “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” ― Marcus Aurelius

14. “Though you break your heart, men will go on as before.” ― Marcus Aurelius

15. Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life. ― Marcus Aurelius

16. Pleasures, when they go beyond a certain limit, are but punishments. ― Marcus Aurelius

17. To live the good life: We have the potential for it. If we can learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference. ― Marcus Aurelius

18. “It’s silly to try to escape other people’s faults. They are inescapable. Just try to escape your own.” – Marcus Aurelius

19. “Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.” – Marcus Aurelius

20. “You’re better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve.” – Marcus Aurelius

21. No man can escape his destiny, the next inquiry being how he may best live the time that he has to live. ― Marcus Aurelius

22. Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul. ― Marcus Aurelius

23. A man’s worth is no greater than his ambitions. ― Marcus Aurelius

24. “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” ― Marcus Aurelius

25. Tomorrow is nothing, today is too late; the good lived yesterday. – Marcus Aurelius

26. Everything that happens happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so. ― Marcus Aurelius

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

28. “The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.” ― Marcus Aurelius

29. “Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.”
― Marcus Aurelius

30. Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life. ― Marcus Aurelius