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Meditations
One of the great Stoic philosophers, Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor historically known for expanding his Empire through many years of warfare, and his name has been made even more popular by the movie, Gladiator (portrayed by the late Richard Harris). As with the rest of the works of Stoicism that I've read, I do find worthwhile bits of wisdom expressed throughout the pages of Meditations. I took particular notice of how Marcus and the Stoics viewed all things as connected or part of a greater whole, but I also grabbed some quotes just because of the expressions used within them, (such as "the struggle against passion's mastery" or "linger still on a less lofty plane").
"Anything that distracts you from fidelity to the Ruler within you means a loss of opportunity for some other task. See then that the flow of your thoughts is kept free from idle or random fancies, particularly those of an inquisitive or uncharitable nature." - Pg. 55
"A competitor in the greatest of all contests, the struggle against passion's mastery." - Pg. 56
What, not even a complete sentence? I liked this quote because it refers to what Stoics saw as the main goal in life: to establish and maintain control over one's self; to master one's own passions.
"The approval of such men, who do not even stand well in their own eyes, has no value for him." - Pg. 56
Marcus often cautioned against getting caught up the opinions that others held about you. He pointed out that the majority of people are filled with self-doubt, self-hate, and self-loathing to the point that they "do not even stand well in their own eyes." And yet, you would care what such people think about you? Of no value, indeed.
"Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant; all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed." - Pg. 59
"Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul; avail yourself often of this retirement, and so continually renew yourself." - Pg. 63
"Put from you the belief that "I have been wronged", and with it will go the feeling. Reject your sense of injury, and the injury itself disappears." - Pg. 65
"The pursuit of any object depends for its value upon the worth of the object pursued. If, then, you would avoid discouragement, never become unduly absorbed in things that are not of the first importance." - Pg. 71
"Nature's highest happiness lies in changing the things that are, and forming new things after their kind. Whatever is, is in some sense the seed of what is to emerge from it." - Pg. 72
"A poor soul burdened with a corpse, Epictetus calls you." - Pg. 73
Ouch! That was cold-blooded.
"See how many qualities there are which could be yours at this moment . . . and yet you choose to linger still on a less lofty plane." - Pg. 78
As with the previous quote, Marcus seeks to inspire through, well, harsh insults. Each of us should perform some degree of self evaluation to see if we are indeed just walking corpses lingering on a less lofty plane, instead of being active captains of our souls, aimed at something with meaning and purpose.
"The man who has done one good action does not cry it aloud, but passes straight on to a second." - Pg. 79
"When force of circumstance upsets your equanimity, lose no time in recovering your self-control, and do not remain out of tune longer than you can help. Habitual recurrence to the harmony will increase your mastery of it." - Pg. 92
"Dig within. There lies the well-spring of good; ever dig, and it will ever flow." - Pg. 115
"No matter whether the universe is a confusion of atoms or a natural growth, let my first conviction be that I am part of a Whole which is under Nature's goverance; any my second, that a bond of kinship exists between myself and all other similar parts." - Pg. 152
"Our anger and annoyance are more detrimental to us than the things themselves which anger or annoy us." - Pg. 173
"All the blessings which you pray to obtain hereafter could be yours today, if you did not deny them to yourself." - Pg. 179
"The hour for your departure draws near; if you will but forget all else and pay sole regard to the helmsman of your soul and the divine spark within you - if you will but exchange your fear of having to end your life some day for a fear of failing even to begin it on nature's true principles - you can yet become a man, worthy of the universe that gave you birth, instead of a stranger in your own homeland, bewildered by each day's happenings as though by wonders unlooked for, and ever hanging upon this one or the next." - Pg. 179
This short collection of 12 books from Marcus Aurelius was actually titled "To Himself", but it had been translated long ago as "Meditations", and so the name stuck. It gives much advice on how to conduct oneself in life when faced with such issues as pride, reputation, procrastination, one's work, facing hardships, accepting the inevitability of death, and so on. Good stuff.