Marcus Aurelius
121–180. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
7 genuine quotes, each found in the text, and 5 wrongly credited to Aurelius.
Roman emperor (161–180) and Stoic philosopher. His Greek Meditations is a personal notebook of reminders and self-examination, not a book written for publication. Its short passages are often detached from their setting, and sayings circulated under his name need checking against the text rather than treating modern paraphrases or fakes as his words.
FrontispieceMade by an image model after an unknown Roman sculptor’s marble head of Marcus Aurelius (2nd century AD, public domain), in the manner of neoclassical book typography (1757–1830). The likeness is the original’s; this picture is AI‑generated and not historical. The endpaper behind it is an AI‑generated pattern in the same manner.
Genuine Aurelius quotes
- Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good.
Meditations (180), Book 4, section 17.
- If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it.
Meditations (180), Book 12, section 17.
- Loss is nothing else than change.
Meditations (180), Book 9, section 35.
- The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrong doer.
Meditations (180), Book 6, section 6.
- That which is an obstacle on the road helps us on this road.
Meditations (180), Book 5, section 20, conclusion.
- The soul is dyed by the thoughts.
Meditations (180), Book 5, section 16, opening.
- No longer talk at all about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, but be such.
Meditations (180), Book 10, section 16.
Quotes wrongly credited to Aurelius
- 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.
Misattributed. Elbert Hubbard wrote it, not Aurelius.
- Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.
Not found. It is not in Aurelius’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
- Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.
Not found. It is not in Aurelius’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
- What we do in life echoes in eternity.
Not found. It is not in Aurelius’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
- You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
Not found. It is not in Aurelius’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
Paraphrased: Aurelius’s thought, in other words
- The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.
Paraphrase. The idea is in Meditations (180), Book 4, section 3, conclusion.
- It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.
Paraphrase. The idea is in Meditations (180), Book 12, section 1.
- The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.
Paraphrase. The idea is in Meditations (180), Book 7, section 61.
- Dig within. Within is the wellspring of good; and it will ever bubble up, if you will ever dig.
Paraphrase. The idea is in Meditations (180), Book 7, section 59.
- If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs thee, but thy own judgement about it. And it is in thy power to wipe out this judgement now.
Paraphrase. The idea is in Meditations (180), Book 8, section 47 (opening).
- That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it good for the bee.
Paraphrase. The idea is in Meditations (180), Book 6, section 54.
The works we hold
Quotes are looked up word for word in these texts. The number is how many genuine quotes here come from each.
| Work | Year | Genuine quotes |
|---|---|---|
| Meditations Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν | 180 | 7 |