50+ Best Marcus Aurelius Quotes for Navigating Life’s Challenges
Born on April 26, 121 AD, in Rome, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was part of the Antonine dynasty and became the last of the “Five Good Emperors” of Rome. He ruled from 161 AD to 180 AD known for his philosophical writings and his stoic beliefs.
Marcus Aurelius had educated in a variety of topics, including philosophy, law, and speech. Marcus Aurelius was deeply committed to the principles of Stoicism.
He wrote a series of private notes and meditations, commonly known as “Meditations” or “To Himself,” and many of his quotes come directly from these. He explored thoughts on morality, self-improvement, and the nature of reality in these writings.
One of Aurelius’ most well-known quotes is, “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength”. This quote perfectly captures the stoic principle of putting our attention on what we can control rather than allowing outside situations to overpower us.
Let’s start, Here are some of the best marcus aurelius quotes:
Best Marcus Aurelius Quotes
“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”
“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”
“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.”
“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”
“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.”
“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.”
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”
“Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.”
“The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.”
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Marcus Aurelius Meditations Quotes
“Our life is what our thoughts make it.”
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
“Everything is ephemeral – both memory and the object of memory.”
“The universe is change; life is an opinion.”
“Constantly think of the universe as one living creature, embracing one being and one soul; how all is absorbed into the one consciousness of this living creature; how it compasses all things with a single purpose, and how all things work together to cause all that comes to pass, and their wonderful web and texture.”
“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.”
“How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy.”
Marcus Aurelius Stoic Quotes
“If it’s not right, don’t do it. If it’s not true, don’t say it.”
“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”
“To live happily is an inward power of the soul.”
“Stay calm and serene regardless of what life throws at you.”
“Accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?”
“Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.”
“Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible.”
Marcus Aurelius God Quotes
“All things are interwoven with one another; a sacred bond unites them; there is scarcely one thing that is isolated from another.”
“The universal order and the personal order are nothing but different expressions and manifestations of a common underlying principle.”
“The nature of the All moved to make the universe.”
“All that is from the gods is full of providence.”
“Everything suits me that suits your designs, O my universe. Nothing is too early or too late for me that is in your own good time.”
“Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom yourself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change things which are, and to make new things like them.”
“If there are gods and they are just, they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by.”
“The gods are within us. They exist as our virtues and vices.”
“The gods are not served by human hands.”
“The universe is perfect as it is because it is created by the divine.”
“The gods created humans to live in harmony with nature and with one another.”
“The gods do not interfere in the affairs of humans unless we ask for their guidance.”
“In a word, if there is a god, all is well; and if chance rules, do not also be governed by it.”
“To move from one unselfish action to another with God in mind. Only there, delight and stillness.”
Marcus Aurelius Quotes On Love
“The best way to avenge yourself is to not be like that.”
“He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.”
“It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinions than our own.”
“No longer talk at all about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, but be such”
“Love only what befalls you and is spun for you by fate.”
“Love the little trade which thou hast learned, and be content therewith.”
“Love the discipline you know, and let it support you. Entrust everything willingly to the gods, and then make your way through life—no one’s master and no one’s slave.”
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