Marcus Aurelius

Say nothing more to thyself than what the first appearances report.

Thus then always abide by the first appearances, and add nothing thyself from within, and then nothing happens to thee.

A cucumber is bitter--Throw it away.--There are briers in the road--Turn aside from them.--This is enough.

Neither in thy actions be sluggish nor in thy conversation without method, nor wandering in thy thoughts, nor let there be in thy soul inward contention nor external effusion, nor in life be so busy as to have no leisure.

What then can these things do to prevent thy mind from remaining pure, wise, sober, just?

He who does not know what the world is, does not know where he is.

For since the universal nature has made rational animals for the sake of one another, to help one another according to their deserts, but in no way to injure one another, he who transgresses her will is clearly guilty of impiety towards…

And indeed he who pursues pleasure as good, and avoids pain as evil, is guilty of impiety.

And further, he who is afraid of pain will sometimes also be afraid of some of the things which will happen in the world, and even this is impiety.

And he who pursues pleasure will not abstain from injustice, and this is plainly impiety.

With respect to pain, then, and pleasure, or death and life, or honor and dishonor, which the universal nature employs equally, whoever is not equally affected is manifestly acting impiously.

It would be a man's happiest lot to depart from mankind without having had any taste of lying and hypocrisy and luxury and pride.

Hast thou determined to abide with vice, and hast not experience yet induced thee to fly from this pestilence?

For the destruction of the understanding is a pestilence, much more, indeed, than any such corruption and change of this atmosphere which surrounds us.

Do not despise death, but be well content with it, since this too is one of those things which nature wills.

This, then, is consistent with the character of a reflecting man--to be neither careless nor impatient nor contemptuous with respect to death, but to wait for it as one of the operations of nature.

For it is no way right to be offended with men, but it is thy duty to care for them and to bear with them gently; and yet to remember that thy departure will not be from men who have the same principles as thyself.

For this is the only thing, if there be any, which could draw us the contrary way and attach us to life,--to be permitted to live with those who have the same principles as ourselves.

But now thou seest how great is the trouble arising from the discordance of those who live together, so that thou mayst say, Come quick, O death, lest perchance I, too, should forget myself.

He who does wrong does wrong against himself.

He who acts unjustly acts unjustly to himself, because he makes himself bad.

He often acts unjustly who does not do a certain thing; not only he who does a certain thing.

Thy present opinion founded on understanding, and thy present conduct directed to social good, and thy present disposition of contentment with everything which happens+--that is enough.

For the stone which has been thrown up it is no evil to come down, nor indeed any good to have been carried up (viii. 20).

Penetrate inwards into men's leading principles, and thou wilt see what judges thou art afraid of, and what kind of judges they are of themselves.