Top 500 Marcus Aurelius Quotes (2026 Update)
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351. “The healthy eye ought to see all visible things and not to say, I wish for green things; for this is the condition of a diseased eye.”

— Marcus Aurelius

352. “The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength.”

— Marcus Aurelius

353. “Praise adds nothing to beauty – makes it neither better nor worse.”

— Marcus Aurelius

354. “He who eats my bread, does my will.”

— Marcus Aurelius

355. “Though you break your heart, men will go on as before.”

— Marcus Aurelius

356. “Nothing befalls a man except what is in his nature to endure.”

— Marcus Aurelius

357. “My city and state are Rome. But as a human being? The world. So for me, “good” can only mean what’s good for both communities.”

— Marcus Aurelius

358. “Time is a kind of river, an irresistible flood sweeping up men and events and carrying them headlong, one after the other, to the great sea of being.”

— Marcus Aurelius

359. “The whole contains nothing that is not for its advantage. By remembering that I am part of such a whole, I shall be content with everything that happens.”

— Marcus Aurelius

360. “He who has seen present things has seen all, both everything which has taken place from all eternity and everything which will be for time without end; for all things are of one kin and of one form.”

— Marcus Aurelius

361. “There is no man so blessed that some who stand by his deathbed won’t hail the occasion with delight.”

— Marcus Aurelius

362. “Dig within. There lies the wellspring of good.”

— Marcus Aurelius

363. “Keep constantly in mind in how many things you yourself have witnessed changes already. The universe is change, life is understanding.”

— Marcus Aurelius

364. “Stick to what’s in front of you – idea, action, utterance.”

— Marcus Aurelius

365. “As far as you can, get into the habit of asking yourself in relation to any action taken by another: “What is his point of reference here?” But begin with yourself: examine yourself first.”

— Marcus Aurelius

Featured in: Firsts Quotes

366. “Reflect often upon the rapidity with which all existing things, or things coming into existence, sweep past us and are carried away.”

— Marcus Aurelius

367. “Death hangs over thee, While thou still live, while thou may, do good.”

— Marcus Aurelius

368. “Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light or look the world in the face.”

— Marcus Aurelius

369. “Things can never touch the soul, but stand inert outside it, so that disquiet can arise only from fancies within.”

— Marcus Aurelius

370. “I can at once become happy anywhere, for he is happy who has found himself a happy lot. In a word, happiness lies all in the functions of reason, in warrantable desires and virtuous practice.”

— Marcus Aurelius

371. “Nature insists on whatever benefits the whole.”

— Marcus Aurelius

372. “Everything is here for a purpose, from horses to vine shoots. What’s surprising about that? Even the sun will tell you, “I have a purpose,” and the other goods as well.”

— Marcus Aurelius

373. “For outward show is a wonderful perverter of the reason.”

— Marcus Aurelius

374. “Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.”

— Marcus Aurelius

375. “Remember that there is a God who desires neither praise nor glory from men created in his image, but rather that they, guided by the understanding given them, should in their actions become like unto him.”

— Marcus Aurelius

376. “And what after all is everlasting fame? Altogether vanity.”

— Marcus Aurelius

377. “Not even the vicissitudes of fortune are contrary to nature or to the providential ordering of the universe. It all flows from the gods, who determine what is needed for the welfare of the whole universe, of which you are a part.”

— Marcus Aurelius

378. “I am called to man’s labour; why then do I make a difficulty if I am going out to do what I was born to do and what I was brought into the world for?”

— Marcus Aurelius

379. “Give full attention and devotion to each act.”

— Marcus Aurelius

380. “Happiness is no other than soundness and perfection of mind.”

— Marcus Aurelius

381. “Do not be ashamed of help.”

— Marcus Aurelius

382. “The constant recollection of death is the test of human conduct.”

— Marcus Aurelius

383. “Nothing can come out of nothing, any more than a thing can go back to nothing.”

— Marcus Aurelius

384. “Give your heart to the trade you have learnt, and draw refreshment from it. Let the rest of your days be spent as one who has whole-heartedly committed his all to the gods and is thenceforth no man’s master or slave.”

— Marcus Aurelius

385. “Do what you will. Even if you tear yourself apart, most people will continue doing the same things.”

— Marcus Aurelius

386. “This is the chief thing: be not perturbed, for all things are according to the nature of the universal.”

— Marcus Aurelius

387. “Remember this-that there is a proper dignity and proportion to be observed in the performance of every act of life.”

— Marcus Aurelius

388. “The nature of the universe is the nature of things that are. Now, things that are have kinship with things that are from the beginning. Further, this nature is styled Truth; and it is the first cause of all that is true.”

— Marcus Aurelius

Featured in: Firsts Quotes

389. “Receive the gifts of fortune without pride, and part with them without reluctance.”

— Marcus Aurelius

390. “Nothing is evil which is according to nature.”

— Marcus Aurelius

391. “An angry look on the face is wholly against nature. If it be assumed frequently, beauty begins to perish, and in the end is quenched beyond rekindling.”

— Marcus Aurelius

392. “Each of us needs what nature gives us, when nature gives us.”

— Marcus Aurelius

393. “In one way an arrow moves, in another way the mind. The mind indeed, both when it exercises caution and when it is employed about inquiry, moves straight onward not the less, and to its object.”

— Marcus Aurelius

394. “The mind in itself wants nothing, unless it creates a want for itself; therefore it is both free from perturbation and unimpeded, if it does not perturb and impede itself.”

— Marcus Aurelius

395. “There is change in all things. You yourself are subject to continual change and some decay, and this is common to the entire universe.”

— Marcus Aurelius

396. “Put an end once and for all to this discussion of what a good person should be, and be one.”

— Marcus Aurelius

397. “Consider frequently the connection of all things in the universe and their relation to one another. For things are somehow implicated with one another, and all in a way friendly to one another.”

— Marcus Aurelius

398. “It is not right to vex ourselves at things, for they care not about it.”

— Marcus Aurelius

399. “Think not disdainfully of death, but look on it with favor; for even death is one of the things that Nature wills.”

— Marcus Aurelius

400. “The universal nature out of the universal substance, as if it were wax, now molds a horse, and when it has broken this up, it uses the material for a tree, then for a man, then for something else...”

— Marcus Aurelius