“A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.”
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Author detail
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus 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. During his reign, the empire defeated a revitalized Parthian Empire; Aurelius' general Avidius Cassius sacked the capital Ctesiphon in 164. Aurelius fought the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians with success during the Marcomannic Wars, but the threat of the Germanic Tribes began to represent a troubling reality for the empire. A revolt in the east led by Avidius Cassius failed to gain momentum and was suppressed immediately. Marcus Aurelius' work Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty. It serves as an example of how Aurelius approached the Platonic ideal of a philosopher-king and how he symbolized much of what was best about Roman civilization.
Quotes
Showing 21-40 of 144
“A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.”
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“A man's happiness: to do the things proper to man.”
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“The one thing worth living for is to keep one's soul pure.”
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“To them that ask, where have you seen the Gods, or how do you know for certain there are Gods, that you are so devout in their worship? I answer: Neither have I ever seen my own soul, and ye...”
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“If thou workest at that which is before thee, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract thee, but keeping thy divine part pure, as if t...”
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“To live happily is an inward power of the soul.”
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“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
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“Life is a stranger's sojourn, a night at an inn.”
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“The art of living is more like that of wrestling than of dancing. The main thing is to stand firm and be ready for an unforeseen attack.”
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“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts ... take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.”
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“A man's life is what his thoughts make it.”
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“This is the chief thing: be not perturbed, for all things are according to the nature of the universal.”
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“Let them know a real man, who lives as he was meant to live.”
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“The passing minute is every man's equal possession but what has once gone by is not ours.”
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“Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.”
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“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together,but do so with all your heart.”
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“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...”
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“Our life is what our thoughts make it.”
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“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”
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“Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.”
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