Marco Aurelio: The best phrases from his book 'Meditations'

Marco Aurelio Antonino Augusto , who was nicknamed “The Wise One”, was an emperor and philosopher of the Roman Empire. Born in Rome in the year 121, and was the last of those known as “Five Good Emperors.” During his Government there were numerous military conflicts in Asia, and Marco Aurelio also had to face a revolt in the eastern provinces with Avidio Cassius in command, whom he defeated.

Marcus Aurelius wrote the work “Meditations” in Hellenistic Greek, and even today, almost 2,000 years later, it is considered the perfect model of government. It is described as “a work written exquisitely and with infinite tenderness .”

Below we have selected the main phrases that Marco Aurelio reflected in “Meditations” , on which it is worth reflecting.

1. When you get up in the morning, think about the privilege of living: breathing, thinking, enjoying, loving.
2. Constantly observe all those things that take place through change, and get used to thinking that nothing loves the nature of the universe so much as changing existing things and creating new similar things.
3. Don’t dream about the things you don’t have, rather acknowledge the blessings of the things you do have. Then, gratefully remind yourself how anxious you would be if your possessions weren’t yours.
4. How much time does he save who does not turn around to see what his neighbor says, does or thinks.
5. The universal order and the personal order are nothing other than different expressions and manifestations of a fundamental common principle.
6. The only wealth that you will keep forever is the wealth that you have given away.
7. I have often wondered how it is that each man loves himself more than the rest of the men, but nevertheless he places less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.
8. All we hear is an opinion, not a fact. All we see is a perspective, not the truth.
9. The first rule is to keep your spirit calm. The second is to see things face to face and know what they are.
10. Just do the right thing. The rest does not matter. Hot or cold. Tired or rested. Despised and honored. Dead or busy with other tasks. Because dying is also one of the tasks that we must fulfill in life.