Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

"You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can't control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone."

"All of us are creatures of a day; the rememberer and the remembered alike. All is ephemeral—both memory and the object of memory. The time is at hand when you will have forgotten everything; and the time is at hand when all will have forgotten you. Always reflect that soon you will be no one, and nowhere."

"…praise does not make anything better or worse."

"Anything in any way beautiful derives its beauty from itself and asks nothing beyond itself. Praise is no part of it, for nothing is made worse or better by praise."

"Neither worse then nor better is a thing made by being praised."

"A key point to bear in mind: The value of attentiveness varies in proportion to its object. You’re better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve."

"Swiftly the remembrance of all things is buried in the gulf of eternity."

"Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig."

"There is no man so blessed that some who stand by his deathbed won't hail the occasion with delight."

"Do not be ashamed of help."

"And in the case of superior things like stars, we discover a kind of unity in separation. The higher we rise on the scale of being, the easier it is to discern a connection even among things separated by vast distances."

"Salvation: to see each thing for what it is— its nature and its purpose. To do only what is right, say only what is true, without holding back. What else could it be but to live life fully— to pay out goodnesslike the rings of a chain, without the slightest gap."

"Accustom yourself not to be disregarding of what someone else has to say: as far as possible enter into the mind of the speaker."

"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."

"The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury."

"A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions."

"Whatever this is that I am, it is a little flesh and breath, and the ruling part. Throw away thy books; no longer distract thyself: it is not allowed; but as if thou wast now dying, despise the flesh; it is blood and bones and a network, a contexture of nerves, veins, and arteries. See the breath also, what kind of a thing it is, air, and not always the same, but every moment sent out and again sucked in. The third then is the ruling part: consider thus: Thou art an old man; no longer let this be a slave, no longer be pulled by the strings like a puppet to unsocial movements, no longer be either dissatisfied with thy present lot, or shrink from the future."

"It is in your own power to maintain the beauty of your soul, or to be a decent human being."

"All men are made one for another: either then teach them better or bear with them."

"It is in your power to withdraw yourself whenever you desire. Perfect tranquility within consists in the good ordering of the mind, the realm of your own."