Authors / Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius quotes

121–180 · Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher

The emperor's Meditations were private notes to himself, never meant for publication. We quote George Long's 19th-century translation; many viral "Marcus Aurelius quotes" are modern paraphrases that drift far from what he wrote.

5 real · 1 not theirs

Really theirs

5 quotes traced to Marcus Aurelius's own work or a reliable witness.

Sourced
No longer talk at all about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, but be such.

Popularly shortened to "Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one."

Source: Meditations 10.16, tr. George Long
Sourced
The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrong doer.
Source: Meditations 6.6, tr. George Long
Sourced
Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.
Source: Meditations 5.16, tr. George Long
Sourced
The universe is transformation: life is opinion.
Source: Meditations 4.3, tr. George Long
Sourced
Very little indeed is necessary for living a happy life.
Source: Meditations 7.67, tr. George Long

Not theirs

1 famous lines credited to Marcus Aurelius that are misquoted, unsourced or belong to someone else.

Misquoted
You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

The real words: A modern paraphrase with no matching passage in the Meditations, though it summarises a Stoic idea fairly.