Marcus Aurelius

There is no nature which is inferior to art, for the arts imitate the natures of things.

But if this is so, that nature which is the most perfect and the most comprehensive of all natures, cannot fall short of the skill of art Now all arts do the inferior things for the sake of the superior; therefore the universal nature does…

If the things do not come to thee, the pursuits and avoidances of which disturb thee, still in a manner thou goest to them.

At first tragedies were brought on the stage as means of reminding men of the things which happen to them, and that it is according to nature for things to happen so, and that, if you are delighted with what is shown on the stage, you…

We must not chafe and fret at that which happens.

How plain does it appear that there is not another condition of life so well suited for philosophizing as this in which thou now happenest to be.

In everything always observe what the thing is which produces for thee an appearance, and resolve it by dividing it into the formal, the material, the purpose, and the time within which it must end.

Perceive at last that thou hast in thee something better and more divine than the things which cause the various affects, and as it were pull thee by the strings.

First, do nothing inconsiderately, nor without a purpose.

Let then thy judgment about them be at rest, and they will remain quiet, and thou wilt not be seen either pursuing or avoiding.

The spherical form of the soul maintains its figure when it is neither extended towards any object, nor contracted inwards, nor dispersed, nor sinks down, but is illuminated by light, by which it sees the truth,--the truth of all things…

But I will look to this, that I be not discovered doing or saying anything deserving of contempt.

Men despise one another and flatter one another; and men wish to raise themselves above one another, and crouch before one another.

How unsound and insincere is he who says, I have determined to deal with thee in a fair way!--What are thou doing, man?

The voice ought to be plainly written on the forehead.

Such as a man's character is,+ he immediately shows it in his eyes, just as he who is beloved forthwith reads everything in the eyes of lovers.

The man who is honest and good ought to be exactly like a man who smells strong, so that the bystander as soon as he comes near him must smell whether he choose or not.

The good and simple and benevolent show all these things in the eyes, and there is no mistaking.

As to living in the best way, this power is in the soul, if it be indifferent to things which are indifferent.

For if these things are according to nature, rejoice in them and they will be easy to thee: but if contrary to nature, seek what is conformable to thy own nature, and strive towards this, even if it bring no reputation; for every man is…

Consider whence each thing is come, and of what it consists, + and into what it changes, and what kind of a thing it will be when it has changed, and that it will sustain no harm.

For as every soul is unwillingly deprived of the truth, so also is it unwillingly deprived of the power of behaving to each man according to his deserts.

Take away these opinions then, and resolve to dismiss thy judgment about an act as if it were something grievous, and thy anger is gone.

But thou must equally avoid nattering men and being vexed at them, for both are unsocial and lead to harm.

For in the same degree in which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all passion, in the same degree also is it nearer to strength: and as the sense of pain is a characteristic of weakness, so also is anger.