Tag: stoicquotes

Quotes from Marcus Aurelius Meditations

Statue depicting what Marcus Aurelius might have looked like

I’m working on a book review of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, but I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes from the book with you. I should have the book review done in a couple of days.

Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus’ death in 169. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. All the quotes provided on this page are from the book Meditations, translation by Gregory Hays.

Favorite Quotes from Meditations

“Remember how long you’ve been putting this off, how many extensions the gods gave you, and you didn’t use them. At some point you have to recognize what world it is that you belong to; what power rules it and from what source you spring; that there is a limit to the time assigned you, and if you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone and will never return.” Marcus Aurelius Meditations 2:4

“Yes, keep on degrading yourself, soul. But soon your chance at dignity will be gone. Everyone gets one life. Yours is almost used up, and instead of treating yourself with respect, you have entrusted your own happiness to the solus of others.” Marcus Aurelius Meditations 2:6

“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think. But death and life, success and failure, pain and pleasure, wealth and poverty, all  these happen to good and bad alike, and they are neither noble nor shameful-and hence neither good nor bad.” Marcus Aurelius Meditations 2:11

“No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be good. Like gold or emerald or purple repeating to itself, “No matter what anyone says of does, my task is to be emerald, my color undiminished.” Marcus Aurelius Meditations 7:15

“The mind without passions is a fortress. No place is more secure. Once we take refuge there we are safe forever. Not to see this is ignorance. To see it and not seek safety means misery.” Marcus Aurelius Meditations 8:48

I have a few more Marcus Aurelius quotes, and continue to add to this collection. All the quotes come from the book Meditations. Here is my current collection. https://josephsacco.com/quotes-marcus-aurelius/

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10 Powerful Lessons From The Meditations Of Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius picture of

The video below is from the YouTube channel Everyday Stoic. I think you will really enjoy this as much as I did. You can find many more of my favorite YouTube videos on this blog on the YouTube Videos page.

 

“Meditations (Medieval Greek: Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν, romanized: Ta eis heauton, literally “things to one’s self”) is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy.

Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement.

It is possible that large portions of the work were written at Sirmium, where he spent much time planning military campaigns from 170 to 180. Some of it was written while he was positioned at Aquincum on campaign in Pannonia, because internal notes tell us that the first book was written when he was campaigning against the Quadi on the river Granova (modern-day Hron) and the second book was written at Carnuntum.

It is unlikely that Marcus Aurelius ever intended the writings to be published and the work has no official title, so “Meditations” is one of several titles commonly assigned to the collection. These writings take the form of quotations varying in length from one sentence to long paragraphs.”

Source: Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditations

Namaste

 

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The good endures

Musonius Rufus was so right, any good work you do, does have an enduring quality or impact, while much of our fucking around ends rather quickly, but our shame about what we did endures. Isn’t this the ultimate challenge that has faced mankind since our existence on this planet? Do we seek to spend our lives seeking pleasure, craving harmful substances and practices? Most of humanity does just that, but as I’ve mentioned you are a philosopher and you are not so easily swayed by the crowd.

Today you will take the high road and do something useful, not over indulging in food or drink. As always, make the best of this day or night, express love for the people around you, and take care of yourself.

I wrote a book review on The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday, which I think you might enjoy, really a wonderful book.

Namaste