Marcus Aurelius
Traced to source
15 quotes we’ve traced to Marcus Aurelius
“All of us are creatures of a day; the rememberer and the remembered alike”
Verified“Confine yourself to the present”
Verified“Death hangs over thee: whilst yet thou livest, whilst thou mayest, be good”
Verified“If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it”
Verified“No longer talk at all about the kind of man that a good man ought to be, but be such”
Verified“Observe always that everything is the result of a change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and to make new ones like them”
Verified“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way”
Verified“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts”
Verified“Think not so much of what thou hast not as of what thou hast: but of the things which thou hast select the best, and then reflect how eagerly they would have been sought, if thou hadst them not”
Verified“Very little is needed to make a happy life”
Verified“What brings no benefit to the hive, brings none to the bee”
Verified“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth”
Disputed“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones”
Disputed“You have power over your mind - not outside events”
Disputed“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength”
DisputedNot actually Marcus Aurelius
Often misattributed to Marcus Aurelius
Famous lines widely pinned on Marcus Aurelius that we’ve traced to someone else.
On the research bench
Commonly pinned on Marcus Aurelius — under review
1 line flagged as pinned on Marcus Aurelius and queued for a full source trace — not yet verified.
Did they really say it?
Thought Marcus Aurelius said something else?
Type a quote you think Marcus Aurelius said — we’ll tell you what we know, or point you to the best sources.