Marcus Aurelius wrote a book called “The Meditations,” which contained the inner thoughts of the emperor which are still being read and studied today. Originally written in Greek, the book featured the emperor’s thoughts and reflections. It featured passages inspired by Stoicism, the school of philosophy. And while he was not what we would consider a Christian, his writing shows a level of wisdom that all of us can glean.
Here are some quotes for your consideration:
1. “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.”
2. “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.”
3. “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
4. “I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.”
5. “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
6. “What we do now echoes in eternity.”
7. “Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.”
8. “Don’t go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one.”
9. “Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to throw away. Death stands at your elbow. Be good for something while you live and it is in your power.”
10. “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.”