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The Object Of Life Is Not To Be On The Side Of The Majority, But To Escape Finding Oneself In The Ranks Of The Insane.
-Marcus Aurelius
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The Object Of Life

Marcus Aurelius
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The Object Of Life Is Not To Be On The Side Of The Majority, But To Escape Finding Oneself In The Ranks Of The Insane.

Understanding the Quote: "the object of life is not to be on the side of..."

This quote by Marcus Aurelius reflects deeply on the theme of life. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Life, Depression, Insanity, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Marcus Aurelius interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius is celebrated for insightful thoughts on life and depression. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Life
Depression
Insanity
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It's Silly To Try To Escape Other People's Faults. They Are Inescapable. Just Try To Escape Your Own.
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Don't Let Your Imagination Be Crushed By Life As A Whole.
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But If We Judge Only Those Things Which Are In Our Power To Be Good Or Bad, There Remains No Reason Either For Finding Fault With God Or Standing In A Hostile Attitude To Man.
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Why Should A Man Have Any Apprehension About The Change And Dissolution Of All The Elements? For It Is According To Nature, And Nothing Is Evil Which Is According To Nature.
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Do What You Will. Even If You Tear Yourself Apart, Most People Will Continue Doing The Same Things.
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Unhappy Am I Because This Has Happened To Me.- Not So, But Happy Am I, Though This Has Happened To Me, Because I Continue Free From Pain, Neither Crushed By The Present Nor Fearing The Future.
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Most Of What We Say And Do Is Not Essential. If You Can Eliminate It, You'll Have More Time, And More Tranquillity. Ask Yourself At Every Moment, 'is This Necessary?'
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There Is Change In All Things. You Yourself Are Subject To Continual Change And Some Decay, And This Is Common To The Entire Universe.
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The Honest And Good Man Ought To Be Exactly Like A Man Who Smells Strong, So That The Bystander As Soon As He Comes Near Him Must Smell Whether He Choose Or Not.
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We Are Too Much Accustomed To Attribute To A Single Cause That Which Is The Product Of Several, And The Majority Of Our Controversies Come From That.
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Let Men See, Let Them Know, A Real Man, Who Lives As He Was Meant To Live.
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Gluttony And Drunkenness Have Two Evils Attendant On Them; They Make The Carcass Smart, As Well As The Pocket.
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It Is Man's Peculiar Duty To Love Even Those Who Wrong Him.
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Thou Mayest Foresee... The Things Which Will Be. For They Will Certainly Be Of Like Form, And It Is Not Possible That They Should Deviate From The Order Of Things Now: Accordingly To Have Contemplated Human Life For Forty Years Is The Same As To Have Contemplated It For Ten Thousand Years.
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Is Your Cucumber Bitter? Throw It Away. Are There Briars In Your Path? Turn Aside. That Is Enough. Do Not Go On And Say, "why Were Things Of This Sort Ever Brought Into This World?" Neither Intolerable Nor Everlasting - If Thou Bearest In Mind That It Has Its Limits, And If Thou Addest Nothing To It In Imagination. Pain Is Either An Evil To The Body (then Let The Body Say What It Thinks Of It!)-or To The Soul. But It Is In The Power Of The Soul To Maintain Its Own Serenity And Tranquility. . . .
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The Best Sort Of Revenue Is Not To Be Like Him Who Did The Injury.
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How Many Together With Whom I Came Into The World Are Already Gone Out Of It.
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Dress Not Thy Thoughts In Too Fine A Raiment. And Be Not A Man Of Superfluous Words Or Superfluous Deeds.
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A Little Time, And Thou Shalt Close Thy Eyes; And Him Who Has Attended Thee To Thy Grave, Another Soon Will Lament.
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How Much More Grievous Are The Consequences Of Anger Than The Causes Of It.
Love
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I'm Going To Be Meeting With People Today Who Talk Too Much - People Who Are Selfish, Egotistical, Ungrateful. But I Won't Be Surprised Or Disturbed, For I Can't Imagine A World Without Such People.
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Everything That Happens Either Happens In Such A Way As You Are Formed By Nature To Bear It, Or As You Are Not Formed By Nature To Bear It.
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Everything - A Horse, A Vine - Is Created For Some Duty... For What Task, Then, Were You Yourself Created?
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The Opinion Of 10,000 Men Is Of No Value If None Of Them Know Anything About The Subject.
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Do Not Consider Anything For Your Interest Which Makes You Break Your Word, Quit Your Modesty Or Inclines You To Any Practice Which Will Not Bear The Light Or Look The World In The Face.
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The Healthy Eye Ought To See All Visible Things And Not To Say, I Wish For Green Things; For This Is The Condition Of A Diseased Eye.
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Depart Then Satisfied, For He Also Who Releases Thee Is Satisfied.
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Receive Wealth Or Prosperity Without Arrogance; And Be Ready To Let It Go.
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We Are The Other Of The Other
...the Infallible Man Does Not Exist.
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My City And State Are Rome. But As A Human Being? The World. So For Me, "good" Can Only Mean What's Good For Both Communities.
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In The Case Of Most Pains Let This Remark Of Epicurus Aid Thee, That The Pain Is Neither Intolerable Nor Everlasting, If Thou Bear In Mind That It Has Its Limits, And If Thou Addest Nothing To It In Imagination.
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They Know Not How Many Things Are Signified By The Words Stealing, Sowing, Buying, Keeping Quiet, Seeing What Ought To Be Done; For This Is Not Effected By The Eyes, But By Another Kind Of Vision.
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Think Of Yourself As Dead. You Have Lived Your Life. Now, Take What's Left And Live It Properly. What Doesn't Transmit Light Creates Its Own Darkness.
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When You Find An Unwillingness To Rise Early In The Morning, Make This Short Speech To Yourself: I Am Getting Up Now To Do The Business Of A Man; And Am I Out Of Humour For Going About That I Was Made For, And For The Sake Of Which I Was Sent Into The World? Was I Then Designed For Nothing But To Doze And Keep Warm Beneath The Counterpane? Well! But This Is A Comfortable Way Of Living.
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God Sees The Inner Spirit Stripped Of Flesh, Skin, And All Debris. For His Own Mind Only Touches The Spirit That He Has Allowed To Flow From Himself Into Our Bodies. And If You Can Act The Same Way, You Will Rid Yourself Of All Suffering. For Surely If You Are Not Preoccupied With The Body That Encloses You, You Will Not Trouble Yourself About Clothes, Houses, Fame, And Other Showy Trappings.
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The Man Who Doesn't Know What The Universe Is Doesn't Know Where He Lives.
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No Matter What Anyone Says Or Does, My Task Is To Be Emerald, My Color Undiminished.
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When Men Are Inhuman, Take Care Not To Feel Towards Them As They Do Towards Other Humans.
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I Search After Truth, By Which Man Never Yet Was Harmed.
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Be Not Disgusted, Nor Discouraged, Nor Dissatisfied, If Thou Dost Not Succeed In Doing Everything According To Right Principles; But When Thou Bast Failed, Return Back Again, And Be Content If The Greater Part Of What Thou Doest Is Consistent With Man's Nature, And Love This To Which Thou Returnest
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Anything That Is Beautiful Is Beautiful Just As It Is. Praise Forms No Part Of Its Beauty, Since Praise Makes Things Neither Better Nor Worse. This Applies Even More To What It Commonly Called Beautiful: Natural Objects, For Example, Or Works Of Art. True Beauty Has No Need Of Anything Beyond Itself.
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How Easy It Is To Repel And Release Every Impression Which Is Troublesome And Immediately To Be Tranquil.
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Everything Is Mere Opinion.
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All Is Ephemeral - Fame And The Famous As Well.
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Look Back Over The Past, With Its Changing Empires That Rose And Fell, And You Can Foresee The Future, Too.
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As For Others Whose Lives Are Not So Ordered, He Reminds Himself Constantly Of The Characters They Exhibit Daily And Nightly At Home And Abroad, And Of The Sort Of Society They Frequent; And The Approval Of Such Men, Who Do Not Even Stand Well In Their Own Eyes, Has No Value For Him.
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Welcome Every Experience The Looms Of Fate May Weave For You.
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Treat With Utmost Respect Your Power Of Forming Opinions, For This Power Alone Guards You Against Making Assumptions That Are Contrary To Nature And Judgments That Overthrow The Rule Of Reason.
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Men Exist For Each Other. Then Either Improve Them, Or Put Up With Them.
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If This Is Neither My Own Badness, Nor An Effect Of My Own Badness, And The Common Weal Is Not Injured, Why Am I Troubled About It? And What Is The Harm To The Common Weal?
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Waste No More Time Talking About Great Souls And How They Should Be, Become One Yourself!
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The World Is Nothing But Change, Our Life Is Only Perception.
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Let It Be Your Constant Method To Look Into The Design Of People's Actions, And See What They Would Be At, As Often As It Is Practicable; And To Make This Custom The More Significant, Practice It First Upon Yourself.
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When Jarred, Unavoidably, By Circumstance Revert At Once To Yourself And Don't Lose The Rhythm More Than You Can Help. You'll Have A Better Grasp Of Harmony If You Keep Going Back To It.
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If You Do Everything As If It Were The Last Thing You Were Doing In Your Life, And Stop Being Aimless, Stop Letting Your Emotions Override What Your Mind Tells You, Stop Being Hypocritical, Self-centered, Irritable.
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Frightened Of Change? But What Can Exist Without It? What's Closer To Nature's Heart? Can You Take A Hot Bath And Leave The Firewood As It Was? Eat Food Without Transforming It? Can Any Vital Process Take Place Without Something Being Changed? Can't You See? It's Just The Same With You - And Just As Vital To Nature.
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Pray Look Upon The Plants And Birds, The Ants, Spiders, And Bees, And You Will See Them All Exerting Their Nature, And Busy In Their Station. Pray, Shall Not A Man Act Like A Man?
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Failure To Read What Is Happening In Another's Soul Is Not Easily Seen As A Cause Of Unhappiness: But Those Who Fail To Attend The Motions Of Their Own Soul Are Necessarily Unhappy.
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Death Smiles At Us All, All A Man Can Do Is Smile Back.
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Be Like The Rocky Headland On Which The Waves Constantly Break. It Stands Firm, And Round It The Seething Waters Are Laid To Rest.
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Each Thing Is Of Like Form From Everlasting And Comes Round Again In Its Cycle...
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No One Wearies Of Benefits Received.
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Be Satisfied With Your Business, And Learn To Love What You Were Bred To.
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A Wrongdoer Is Often A Man Who Has Left Something Undone, Not Always One Who Has Done Something.
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Never Value Anything As Profitable To Thyself Which Shall Compel Thee To Break Thy Promise, To Lose Thy Self-respect, To Hate Any Man, To Suspect, To Curse, To Act The Hypocrite, To Desire Anything Which Needs Walls And Curtains.
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Let Your One Delight And Refreshment Be To Pass From One Service To The Community To Another, With God Ever In Mind.
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And Can Anything Else That Is Useful Be Accomplished Without Change? Do You Not See Then That For Yourself Also To Change Is Just The Same, And Equally Necessary For The Universal Nature?
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The Universe Is A Single Life Comprising One Substance And One Soul.
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People Who Labor All Their Lives But Have No Purpose To Direct Every Thought And Impulse Toward Are Wasting Their Time-even When Hard At Work.
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Nothing Happens To Any Man That He Is Not Formed By Nature To Bear.
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I Bless The Gods For Not Letting My Education In Rhetoric, Poetry, And Other Literary Studies Come Easily To Me, And Thereby Sparing Me From An Absorbing Interest In These Subjects.
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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.
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The Universe Is In Change, Life Is An Opinion.
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For Outward Show Is A Wonderful Perverter Of The Reason.
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No State Sorrier Than That Of The Man Who Keeps Up A Continual Round, And Pries Into "the Secrets Of The Nether World," As Saith The Poet, And Is Curious In Conjecture Of What Is In His Neighbour's Heart.
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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.
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Be Cheerful, Also, And Seek Not External Help, Nor The Peace Which Others Give. A Man Must Stand Straight, And Not Be Kept Straight By Others.
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The Cucumber Is Bitter? Then Throw It Out. There Are Brambles In The Path? Then Go Around. That's All You Need To Know.
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The Rottenness Of The Matter Which Is The Foundation Of Everything!
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Everything Harmonizes With Me, Which Is Harmonious To Thee, O Universe. Nothing For Me Is Too Early Or Too Late, Which Is In Due Time For Thee.
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If It's In Your Control, Why Do You Do It? If It's In Someone Else's Control, Then Who Are You Blaming? Atoms? The Gods? Stupid Either Way. Blame No One. Set People Straight, If You Can. If Not, Just Repair The Damage.
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The Intelligence Of The Universe Is Social.
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Let Every Action Aim Solely At The Common Good.
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Most Of What We Say And Do Is Unnecessary: Remove The Superfluity, And You Will Have More Time And Less Bother. So In Every Case One Should Prompt Oneself: 'is This, Or Is It Not, Something Necessary?' And The Removal Of The Unnecessary Should Apply Not Only To Actions But To Thoughts Also: Then No Redundant Actions Either Will Follow.
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Action
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Even The Stoics Agree That Certainty Is Very Hard To Come At; That Our Assent Is Worth Little, For Where Is Infallibility To Be Found?
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Dig Inside. Inside Is The Fountain Of Good, And It Will Forever Flow, If You Will Forever Dig.
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By A Tranquil Mind I Mean Nothing Else Than A Mind Well Ordered.
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Alexander The Great And His Mule Driver Both Died And The Same Thing Happened To Both.
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Both Happiness And Unhappiness Depend On Perception
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To No Man Make Yourself A Boon Companion: Your Joy Will Be Less But Less Will Be Your Grief
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Purge Your Mind Of All Aimless And Idle Thoughts, Especially Those That Pry Into The Affairs Of Others Or Wish Them Ill.
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How Barbarous, To Deny Men The Privilege Of Pursuing What They Imagine To Be Their Proper Concerns And Interests! Yet, In A Sense, This Is Just What You Are Doing When You Allow Your Indignation To Rise At Their Wrongdoing; For After All, They Are Only Following Their Own Apparent Concerns And Interests. You Say They Are Mistaken? Why Then, Tell Them So, And Explain It To Them, Instead Of Being Indignant.
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Do Not Fear Death, But Welcome It, Since It Too Comes From Nature. For Just As We Are Young And Grow Old, And Flourish And Reach Maturity, Have Teeth And A Beard And Grey Hairs, Conceive, Become Pregnant, And Bring Forth New Life, And All The Other Natural Processes That Follow The Seasons Of Our Existence, So Also Do We Have Death. A Thoughtful Person Will Never Take Death Lightly, Impatiently, Or Scornfully, But Will Wait For It As One Of Life's Natural Processes.
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Try To Live The Life Of The Good Man Who Is More Than Content With What Is Allocated To Him.
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All Things Change, And You Yourself Are Constantly Wasting Away. So Also Is The Universe.
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Reflect Often Upon The Rapidity With Which All Existing Things, Or Things Coming Into Existence, Sweep Past Us And Are Carried Away.
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So Much Worse Are The Consequences Of Anger Than Its Causes.
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It Is Not Fit That I Should Give Myself Pain, For I Have Never Intentionally Given Pain Even To Another.
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Frequently Consider The Connection Of All Things In The Universe. .. We Should Not Say 'i Am An Athenian' Or 'i Am A Roman' But 'i Am A Citizen Of The Universe.
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This Is The Chief Thing: Be Not Perturbed, For All Things Are According To The Nature Of The Universal.
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Consider That Everything Is Opinion, And Opinion Is In Thy Power.
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Begin - To Begin Is Half The Work, Let Half Still Remain; Again Begin This, And Thou Wilt Have Finished.
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To Her Who Gives And Takes Back All, To Nature, The Man Who Is Instructed And Modest Says, Give What Thou Wilt; Take Back What Thou Wilt. And He Says This Not Proudly, But Obediently And Well Pleased With Her.
Men
Giving
Give And Take
Not To Waste Time On Nonsense. Not To Be Taken In By Conjurors And Hoodoo Artists With Their Talk About Incantations And Exorcism And All The Rest Of It. Not To Be Obsessed With Quail-fighting Or Other Crazes Like That.
Taken
Fighting
Artist
Does A Man Shrink From Change? Why, What Can Come Into Being Save By Change?
Change
Shrinks
On The Occasion Of Every Act Ask Thyself, How Is This With Respect To Me? Shall I Repent Of It? A Little Time And I Am Dead, And All Is Gone.
Gone
Littles
Repent
And Yet, After All, What Is Posthumous Fame? Altogether Vanity.
Vanity
Fame
Posthumous
Waste Not The Remnant Of Thy Life In Those Imaginations Touching Other Folk, Whereby Thou Contributest Not To The Common Weal.
Imagination
Touching
Waste
Failing To Understand The Workings Of One's Own Mind Is Bound To Lead To Unhappiness.
Mind
Failing
Unhappiness
Stop Talking About What The Good Man Is Like, And Just Be One.
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Talking
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...if A Man Comes To His Fortieth Year, And Has Any Understanding At All, He Has Virtually Seen - Thanks To Their Similarity - All Possible Happenings, Both Past And To Come.
Men
Past
Years
Your Mind Will Be Like Its Habitual Thoughts; For The Soul Becomes Dyed With The Color Of Its Thoughts. Soak It Then In Such Trains Of Thoughts As, For Example: Where Life Is Possible At All, A Right Life Is Possible.
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Attitude
Positivity
Men Seek Out Retreats For Themselves In The Country, By The Seaside, On The Moutains . . . But All This Is Unphilosophical To The Last Degree . . . When Thou Canst At A Moment's Notice Retire Into Thyself.
Country
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Degrees
Hast Thou Reason? I Have. Why Then Dost Not Thou Use It? For If This Does Its Own Work, What Else Dost Thou Wish?
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Wish
Doe
When Pain Is Unbearable It Destroys Us; When It Does Not It Is Bearable.
Hurt
Pain
Doe
Such As Are Thy Habitual Thoughts, Such Also Will Be The Character Of Thy Mind; For The Soul Is Dyed By The Thoughts.
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Soul
Change Your Attitude To The Things That Bother You And You Will Be Aware Of Them.
Wisdom
Attitude
Bother
A Man Does Not Sin By Commission Only, But Often By Omission.
Men
Omission
Religion
To Understand The True Quality Of People, You Must Look Into Their Minds, And Examine Their Pursuits And Aversions.
People
Understanding
Mind
Continuously Thou Wilt Look At Human Things As Smoke And Nothing At All; Especially If Thou Reflectest At The Same Time, That What Has Once Changed Will Never Exist Again In The Infinite Duration Of Time. But Thou, In What A Brief Space Of Time Is Thy Existence? And Why Art Thou Not Content To Pass Through This Short Time In An Orderly Way?
Art
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‎"begin The Morning By Saying To Thyself, I Shall Meet With The Busy-body, The Ungrateful, Arrogant, Deceitful, Envious, Unsocial
Morning
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Arrogant
If Thou Canst See Sharp, Look And Judge Wisely, Says The Philosopher.
Judging
Looks
Philosopher
Nothing Befalls Any Man Which He Is Not Fitted To Endure.
Men
Endurance
Endure
In Death, Alexander Of Macedon's End Differed No Whit From His Stable-boy's. Either Both Were Received Into The Same Generative Principle Of The Universe, Or Both Alike Were Dispersed Into Atoms.
Boys
Principles
Atoms
If You Are Pained By External Things, It Is Not They That Disturb You, But Your Own Judgement Of Them. And It Is In Your Power To Wipe Out That Judgement Now.
Inspirational
Power
Judging
As Thou Thyself Art A Component Part Of A Social System, So Let Every Act Of Thine Be A Component Part Of Social Life. Whatever Act Of Thine That Has No Reference, Either Immediately Or Remotely, To A Social End, This Tears Asunder Thy Life, And Does Not Allow It To Be One, And It Is Of The Nature Of A Mutiny, Just As When In A Popular Assembly A Man Acting By Himself Stands Apart From The General Agreement.
Art
Men
Tears
Live Each Day As If It Be Your Last.
Time
Each Day
Lasts
Everything We Hear Is An Opinion, Not A Fact. Everything We See Is A Perspective, Not The Truth.
Truth
Intelligent
Greatness
Look Deeply. Don't Miss The Inherent Quality And Value Of Everything.
Missing
Quality
Looks
Reason And The Reasoning Faculty Need No Foreign Assistance, But Are Sufficient For Their Own Purposes. They Move Within Themselves, And Make Directly For The Point In View. Wherefore, Acts In Accordance With Them Are Called Right Acts, For They Lead Along The Right Road.
Moving
Views
Needs
Things Can Never Touch The Soul, But Stand Inert Outside It, So That Disquiet Can Arise Only From Fancies Within.
Soul
Fancy
Arise
To The Wise, Life Is A Problem; To The Fool, A Solution.
Wise
Philosophical
Math
The Object Of Life Is Not To Be On The Side Of The Majority, But To Escape Finding Oneself In The Ranks Of The Insane.
Life
Depression
Insanity
The Best Revenge Is To Be Unlike Him Who Performed The Injury.
Inspirational
Revenge
Hatred
When You Are Offended At Anyone's Fault, Turn To Yourself And Study Your Own Failings. By Attending To Them, You Will Forget Your Anger And Learn To Live Wisely.
Faults
Study
Forget You
The Sinner Sins Against Himself; The Wrongdoer Wrongs Himself, Becoming The Worse By His Own Action.
Becoming
Action
Sin
Do Every Act Of Your Life As If It Were Your Last.
Inspirational
Life
Work
Let Not Your Mind Run On What You Lack As Much As On What You Have Already.
Running
Gratitude
Philosophical
Nothing Happens To Any Man Which He Is Not Formed By Nature To Bear. The Same Things Happen To Another, And Either Because He Does Not See That They Have Happened Or Because He Would Show A Great Spirit He Is Firm And Remains Unharmed. It Is A Shame Then That Ignorance And Conceit Should Be Stronger Than Wisdom.
Ignorance
Men
Stronger
...the Sole Thing Of Which Any Man Can Be Deprived Is The Present; Since This Is All He Owns, And Nobody Can Lose What Is Not His.
Men
Sole
Deprived
Embellish The Soul With Simplicity, With Prudence, And Everything Which Is Neither Virtuous Nor Vicious. Love All Men. Walk According To God; For, As A Poet Hath Said, His Laws Govern All.
Men
Law
Simplicity
Time Is Like A River Made Up Of The Events Which Happen, And A Violent Stream; For As Soon As A Thing Has Been Seen, It Is Carried Away, And Another Comes In Its Place, And This Will Be Carried Away Too.
Rivers
Events
Violent
No One Was Ever Injured By The Truth; But He Who Persists In Self-deception And Ignorance Is Injured.
Ignorance
Self
Deception
It Is The Act Of A Madman To Pursue Impossibilities .
Madmen
Pursue
Impossibility
Aptitude Found In The Understanding And Is Often Inherited. Genius Coming From Reason And Imagination, Rarely.
Philosophical
Vivid Imagination
Understanding
A Little Flesh, A Little Breath, And A Reason To Rule All - That Is Myself.
Assessment
Flesh
Littles
Receive Without Conceit, Release Without Struggle.
Struggle
Meditation
Release
Accustom Yourself Not To Be Disregarding Of What Someone Else Has To Say: As Far As Possible Enter Into The Mind Of The Speaker.
Empathy
Mind
Speakers
How Soon Will Time Cover All Things.
All Things
And Thou Wilt Give Thyself Relief, If Thou Doest Every Act Of Thy Life As If It Were The Last.
Life
Philosophical
Giving
The Stone That Is Thrown Into The Air Is None The Worse For Falling Down, And None The Better For Going Up.
Fall
Air
Stones
Remember That What Pulls The Strings Is The Force Hidden Within; There Lies The Power To Persuade, There The Life, - There, If One Must Speak Out, The Real Man.
Life
Real
Self Esteem
Every Soul, The Philosopher Says, Is Involuntarily Deprived Of Truth; Consequently In The Same Way It Is Deprived Of Justice And Temperance And Benevolence And Everything Of The Kind. It Is Most Necessary To Keep This In Mind, For Thus Thou Wilt Be More Gentle Towards All.
Justice
Soul
Mind
You Exist But As A Part Inherent In A Greater Whole. Do Not Live As Though You Had A Thousand Years Before You. The Common Due Impends; While You Live, And While You May, Be Good.
Years
May
Common
He Who Pays No Attention To What His Neighbor Does, Says Or Thinks, Preferring To Concentrate On Making His Own Actions Appropriate And Justifiable, Better Uses His Time.
Thinking
Doe
Attention
In The End, What Would You Gain From Everlasting Remembrance? Absolutely Nothing. So What Is Left Worth Living For? This Alone: Justice In Thought, Goodness In Action, Speech That Cannot Deceive, And A Disposition Glad Of Whatever Comes, Welcoming It As Necessary, As Familiar, As Flowing From The Same Source And Fountain As Yourself.
Justice
Remembrance
Speech
Give Your Heart To The Trade You Have Learnt, And Draw Refreshment From It. Let The Rest Of Your Days Be Spent As One Who Has Whole-heartedly Committed His All To The Gods And Is Thenceforth No Man's Master Or Slave.
Heart
Men
Giving
Keep Reminding Yourself Of The Way Things Are Connected, Of Great Relatedness. All Things Are Implicated In One Another And In Sympathy With Each Other. This Event Is The Consequence Of Some Other One. Things Push And Pull On Each Other, And Breathe Together, And Are One.
Together
Events
Way
As Far As You Can, Get Into The Habit Of Asking Yourself In Relation To Any Action Taken By Another: "what Is His Point Of Reference Here?" But Begin With Yourself: Examine Yourself First.
Taken
Asking
Firsts
As Surgeons Keep Their Instruments And Knives Always At Hand For Cases Requiring Immediate Treatment, So Shouldst Thou Have Thy Thoughts Ready To Understand Things Divine And Human, Remembering In Thy Every Act, Even The Smallest, How Close Is The Bond That Unites The Two.
Hands
Knives
Two
Today I Escaped All Circumstance, Or Rather I Cast Out All Circumstance, For It Was Not Outside Me, But Within My Judgements.
Judgement
Today
Circumstances
Be Mindful At All Times Of The Following: The Nature Of The Whole Universe, The Nature Of The Part That Is Me, The Relation Of The One To The Other, The One So Vast, The Other So Small.
Relation
All Time
Following
We Ought To Do Good To Others As Simply As A Horse Runs, Or A Bee Makes Honey, Or A Vine Bears Grapes Season After Season Without Thinking Of The Grapes It Has Borne.
Inspirational
Running
Horse
Just Consider, My Friend, Whether A Pure Spirit And Virtue Are Anything Other Than Saving Your Life And Being Saved. Perhaps We Need To Discard The Idea Of Longevity And Cease Loving This Life, Instead Committing These Things To God And, Believing That No One Ever Escapes Destiny, To Consider, With That In Mind, How We May Live The Best Possible Life In The Time That Remains.
Life
Believe
Destiny
Give Full Attention And Devotion To Each Act.
Giving
Advice
Attention
He Is A True Fugitive Who Flies From Reason.
Logic
Reason
Reason And Logic
Why Do You Hunger For Length Of Days? The Point Of Life Is To Follow Reason And The Divine Spirit And To Accept Whatever Nature Sends You. To Live In This Way Is Not To Fear Death, But To Hold It In Contempt. Death Is Only A Thing Of Terror For Those Unable To Live In The Present. Pass On Your Way, Then, With A Smiling Face, Under The Smile Of Him Who Bids You Go
Way
Faces
Spirit
Consider How Many Do Not Even Know Your Name, And How Many Will Soon Forget It, And How Those Who Now Praise You Will Presently Blame You.
Names
Blame
Forget
Nature Set A Limit On Sleep - As It Did On Eating And Drinking. And Youre Over The Limit. But Not Of Working. There Youre Still Below Your Quota. You Dont Love Yourself Enough. Or Youd Love Your Nature Too And What It Demands Of You. People Who Love What They Do Wear Themselves Down Doing It. They Even Forget To Wash And Eat.
Drinking
Love You
Sleep
A Man's Worth Is No Greater Than His Ambitions.
Philosophical
Ambition
Men
All Things From Eternity Are Of Like Forms And Come Round In Circle.
Circles
Eternity
Form
As The Same Fire Assumes Different Shapes When It Consumes Objects Differing In Shape, So Does The One Self Take The Shape Of Every Creature In Whom He Is Present.
Fire
Self
Doe
Either An Ordered Universe Or A Medley Heaped Together Mechanically But Still An Order; Or Can Order Subsist In You And Disorder In The Whole! And That, Too, When All Things Are So Distinguished And Yet Intermingled And Sympathetic.
Science
Order
Together
Because Other People Are Fools, Must You Be So Too?
People
Fool
To My Great-grandfather I Owed The Advice To Dispense With The Education Of The Schools And Have Good Masters At Home Instead - And To Realize That No Expense Should Be Grudged For This Purpose.
School
Home
Advice
He Who Does Wrong Does Wrong Against Himself. He Who Acts Unjustly Acts Unjustly To Himself, Because He Makes Himself Bad.
Wisdom
Doe
How Many After Being Celebrated By Fame Have Been Given Up To Oblivion; And How Many Who Have Celebrated The Fame Of Others Have Long Been Dead.
Long
Oblivion
Fame
Man Must Be Arched And Buttressed From Within, Else The Temple Wavers To The Dust.
Strength
Men
Dust
A Lucky Chance Is Constant In Nothing But Inconstancy.
Luck
Chance
Constant
Why Dost Thou Not Pray... To Give Thee The Faculty Of Not Fearing Any Of The Things Which Thou Fearest, Or Of Not Desiring Any Of The Things Which Thou Desirest, Or Not Being Pained At Anything, Rather Than Pray That Any Of These Things Should Not Happen Or Happen?
Giving
Praying
Should
There Is A Limit Circumscribed To Your Time – If You Do Not Use It To Clear Away Your Clouds, It Will Be Gone, And You Will Be Gone, And The Opportunity Will Not Return
Opportunity
Clouds
Gone
Happiness Is No Other Than Soundness And Perfection Of Mind.
Happiness
Perfection
Mind
Always Bear This In Mind, That Very Little Indeed Is Necessary For Living A Happy Life.
Happy Life
Mind
Littles
Where Life Is Possible At All, A Right Life Is Possible; Life In A Palace Is Possible; Therefore Even In A Palace A Right Life Is Possible.
Life
Palaces
Life Is
He Who Fears Death Either Fears To Lose All Sensation Or Fears New Sensations. In Reality, You Will Either Feel Nothing At All, And Therefore Nothing Evil, Or Else, If You Can Feel Any Sensations, You Will Be A New Creature, And So Will Not Have Ceased To Have Life.
Reality
Evil
Fear Of Death
For Nowhere Either With More Quiet Or More Freedom From Trouble Does A Man Retire Than Into His Own Soul, Particularly When He Has Within Him Such Thoughts That By Looking Into Them He Is Immediately In Perfect Tranquility; And I Affirm That Tranquility Is Nothing Else Than The Good Ordering Of The Mind.
Peace
Men
Perfect
Everything Is Ephemeral, Both That Which Remembers And That Which Is Remembered.
Death
Ephemeral
Remember
An Angry Look On The Face Is Wholly Against Nature. If It Be Assumed Frequently, Beauty Begins To Perish, And In The End Is Quenched Beyond Rekindling.
Beauty
Nature
Looks
Bear In Mind That The Measure Of A Man Is The Worth Of The Things He Cares About. If It Is Good To Say Or Do Something, Then It Is Even Better To Be Criticized For Having Said Or Done It.
Men
Mind
Done
But If Anything In Thy Own Dispositiongives Thee Pain, Who Hinders Thee From Correcting Thy Opinion? And Even If Thou Art Pained Because Thou Art Not Doing Some Particular Thing Which Seems To Thee To Be Right, Why Dost Thou Not Rather Act Than Complain?- But Some Insuperable Obstacle Is In The Way?- Do Not Be Grieved Then, For The Cause Of Its Not Being Done Depends Not On Thee.- But It Is Not Worth While To Live If This Cannot Be Done.- Take Thy Departure Then From Life Contentedly, Just As He Dies Who Is In Full Activity, And Well Pleased Too With The Things Which Are Obstacles.
Art
Pain
Complaining
In The Morning When Thou Risest Unwillingly, Let This Thought Be Present - I Am Rising To The Work Of A Human Being. Why Then Am I Dissatisfied If I Am Going To Do The Things For Which I Exist And For Which I Was Brought Into The World?
Morning
Rising
World
He Who Flies From His Master Is A Runaway; But The Law Is Master, And He Who Breaks The Law Is A Runaway. And He Also Who Is Grieved Or Angry Or Afraid, Is Dissatisfied Because Something Has Been Or Is Or Shall Be Of The Things Which Are Appointed By Him Who Rules All Things, And He Is Law, And Assigns To Every Man What Is Fit. He Then Who Fears Or Is Grieved Or Is Angry Is A Runaway.
Men
Law
Fit
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