Leaves, also, are thy children; and leaves, too, are they who cry out as if they were worthy of credit and bestow their praise, or on the contrary curse, or secretly blame and sneer; and leaves, in like manner, are those who shall receive and transmit a man's fame to after-times.
Marcus Aurelius uses the metaphor of leaves to illustrate the fleeting nature of human connections, public opinion, and posthumous fame.
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He took a reasonable care of his body's health, not as one who was greatly attached to life, nor out of regard to personal appearance, nor yet in a careless way, but so that through his own attention he very seldom stood in need of the…
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That which is from fortune is not separated from nature or without an interweaving and involution with the things which are ordered by providence.
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