Historical voices

Everything is fruit to me which thy seasons bring, O Nature: from thee are all things, in thee are all things, to thee all things return.

Nothing for me is too early nor too late, which is in due time for thee.

Everything harmonizes with me, which is harmonious to thee, O Universe.

That which is really beautiful has no need of anything; not more than law, not more than truth, not more than benevolence or modesty.

Neither worse then nor better is a thing made by being praised.

Everything which is in any way beautiful is beautiful in itself, and terminates in itself, not having praise as part of itself.

But suppose that those who will remember are even immortal, and that the remembrance will be immortal, what then is this to thee?

He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those who remember him will himself also die very soon; then again also they who have succeeded them, until the whole remembrance shall have been…

While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good.

Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years.

Within ten days thou wilt seem a god to those to whom thou art now a beast and an ape, if thou wilt return to thy principles and the worship of reason.

Many grains of frankincense on the same altar: one falls before, another falls after; but it makes no difference.

Thou shalt disappear in that which produced thee; but rather thou shalt be received back into its seminal principle by transmutation.

But this change of opinion must proceed only from a certain persuasion, as of what is just or of common advantage, and the like, not because it appears pleasant or brings reputation.

A man should always have these two rules in readiness; the one to do only whatever the reason of the ruling and legislating faculty may suggest for the use of men; the other, to change thy opinion, if there is any one at hand who sets thee…

Do not have such an opinion of things as he has who does thee wrong, or such as he wishes thee to have, but look at them as they are in truth.

Observe then as thou hast begun; and whatever thou doest, do it in conjunction with this, the being good, and in the sense in which a man is properly understood to be good.

Consider that everything which happens, happens justly, and if thou observest carefully, thou wilt find it to be so.

That which does not make a man worse than he was, also does not make his life worse, nor does it harm him either from without or from within.

But by all means bear this in mind, that within a very short time both thou and he will be dead; and soon not even your names will be left behind.

It is natural that these things should be done by such persons, it is a matter of necessity; and if a man will not have it so, he will not allow the fig-tree to have juice.

The other is that all these things, which thou seest, change immediately and will no longer be; and constantly bear in mind how many of these changes thou hast already witnessed.

One is that things do not touch the soul, for they are external and remain immovable; but our perturbations come only from the opinion which is within.

For the whole earth is a point, and how small a nook in it is this thy dwelling, and how few are there in it, and what kind of people are they who will praise thee.