Plato maintained that the best possible
heads of government are philosophers.
As emperor of Rome Marcus
Aurelius was the most powerful man in the world yet he was
motivated by a desire for virtue, justice and peace rather than money,
possessions and fame.
His writing has remained relevant for almost two thousand years
because he wrote as a man not an emperor. He wrote about his fear,
and his emotions, his sense of the fleetingness of life and the
importance of living in and savoring the moment.
In his attempts to keep balance
and harmony he advises himself on topics such as hope, tolerance,
self-sufficiency, change, harmony, discipline, reason, courage
and man's position in the universe.
Here are some profound quotes from Marcus Aurelius found in his
work Meditations. They are full of beauty and wisdom.
Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people
with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.
And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act of
thy life as if it were the last.
Be content with what you are, and wish not change; nor dread
your last day, nor long for it.
Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it
impossible for anyone to accomplish.
Begin - to begin is half the work, let half still remain;
again begin this, and thou wilt have finished.
Discard everything except these few truths: we can live only
in the present moment in this brief now.
Confine yourself to the present.
When you are disturbed by events and lose your serenity,
quickly return to yourself and don't stay upset longer than the
experience lasts; for you'll have more mastery over your inner
harmony by continually returning to it.
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we
see is a perspective,
not the truth.
Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like
all else.
Do every act of your life as if it were your last.
Each day provides its own gifts.
Everything that happens happens as it should, and if you
observe carefully, you will find this to be so.
He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the
universe.
How much time he saves who does not look to see what his
neighbor says or does or thinks.
Let not your mind run on what you lack as much as on what you
have already.
Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever
bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.
Loss is nothing else but change,
and change is Nature's delight.
Men exist for the sake of one another.
Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you
have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against
the present.
Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to
investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy
observation in life.
Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than
in his own soul.
Our life is what our thoughts make it.
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.
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious
privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.
You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize
this, and you will find strength.
Very little is needed to make a happy life.
Look deeply. Do not miss the inherent quality and value of
everything.
Plato maintained that the best possible
heads of government are philosophers.