Marcus Aurelius Quotes About Virtue
-
A great estate is a great disadvantage to those who do not know how to use it, for nothing is more common than to see wealthy persons live scandalously and miserably; riches do them no service in order to virtue and happiness; therefore 'tis precept and principle, not an estate, that makes a man good for something.
→ -
Remind oneself continually of one of those who practiced virtue in days gone by.
→ -
Take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.
→ -
Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that Law rules all. And it is enough to remember that law rules all.
→ -
Look within, for within is the wellspring of virtue, which will not cease flowing, if you cease not from digging.
→ -
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.
→ -
Above, below, all around are the movements of the elements. But the motion of virtue is in none of these: it is something more divine, and advancing by a way hardly observed it goes happily on its road.
→ -
Natural ability without education has more often raised a man to glory and virtue than education without natural ability.
→ -
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.
→ -
Let there be freedom from perturbations with respect to the things which come from the external cause; and let there be justice in the things done by virtue of the internal cause, that is, let there be movement and action terminating in this, in social acts, for this is according to thy nature.
→ -
Just consider, my friend, whether a pure spirit and virtue are anything other than saving your life and being saved. Perhaps we need to discard the idea of longevity and cease loving this life, instead committing these things to God and, believing that no one ever escapes destiny, to consider, with that in mind, how we may live the best possible life in the time that remains.
→ -
Find joy in simplicity, self-respect, and indifference to what lies between virtue and vice. Love the human race. Follow the divine.
→ -
When you need encouragement, think of the qualities the people around you have: this one's energy, that one's modesty, another's generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging as when virtues are visibly embodied in the people around us, when we're practically showered with them. It's good to keep this in mind.
→ -
The happiness and unhappiness of the rational, social animal depends not on what he feels but on what he does; just as his virtue and vice consist not in feeling but in doing.
→
Related Authors
-
Epictetus Philosopher -
Plutarch Biographer -
-
Tiberius Roman emperor -
Plotinus Philosopher -
-
Michel de Montaigne Writer -
Claudius Roman emperor -
Marcus Tullius Cicero Philosopher -
Epicurus Philosopher -
Julius Caesar Roman dictator -
Mark Antony Roman Politician -
Diogenes Philosopher -
Caligula Roman emperor -
Constantine the Great Roman emperor -
Augustus Roman emperor -
Seneca the Younger Philosopher -
Aristotle Philosopher -
Vespasian Roman emperor -
Chrysippus Philosopher