Marcus Aurelius on Life




"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. This mortal life is a little thing, lived in a little corner of the earth..."

"To live each day as though one's last, never flustered, never apathetic, never attitudinizing - here is the perfection of character."

"All things are in process of change. You yourself are ceaselessly undergoing transformation and the decay of some of your parts and so is the whole universe."

"If he sinned, the harm is his own. Yet perhaps, after all, he did not!"

Comments

Anonymous said…
Dear god, but he was a miserable bastard...

And judging from his choice of successor, more concerned with Spiritual matters than practical concerns.
Friday, 08 July, 2005
Anonymous said…
We should live in the present, not the past nor the future.
Give to each day your best, it may be your last day living it to the full.
All things are in the process of changing including ourselves.
Marcus Aurelius is so sensible and timeless, he is a pleasure to read again and again. Besides, most of his thoughts form the basis of modern psychotherapy and are available for the small cost of a paperback book.
This saves endless hours and expense in someone's consulting room.
Tuesday, 20 June, 2006
Anonymous said…
carpe diem was far outdated by the time marcus aurelius dreamed up such an absurd idea. unless we are neanderthals (which we are not) continually living in a world of "now" with no regard as to what we might face just a few moments later is folly exemplified in all slums in the world. if it werent for stupid hippies, this worn out idea might have finally died off.
Wednesday, 12 July, 2006
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