How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

Wealth does not bring about virtue, but virtue makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively

“It’s not things that upset me but my judgments about them.”

And philosophy consists in this: for a man to preserve that inner genius or divine spark within him from violence and injuries, and above all from harmful pains or pleasures; never to do anything either without purpose, or falsely, or hypocritically, regardless of the actions or inaction of others; to contentedly embrace all things that happen to him, as coming from the same source from whom he came himself, and above all things, with humility and calm cheerfulness, to anticipate death as being nothing else but the dissolution of those elements of which every living being is composed.

Life is warfare and a sojourn in a foreign land. Our reputation after life is nothing but oblivion. What is it then that will guide man? One thing alone: philosophy, the love of wisdom.

We have been given a duty of sorts to take care of this paltry body with its unruly feelings, but only our intellect is genuinely our own. We let go of our attachment to everything external, purifying and separating ourselves from things, when we firmly grasp the realization that they are transient and ultimately indifferent. When we cut our ties to the past and the future and center ourselves in the present moment, we set our soul free from external things, leaving it to invest itself wholly in fulfilling its own nature.

He said, “Friends, if a childish part of you is still afraid of death, you should sing a charm over him every day until he’s cured.” If I consider death for what it is, analyzing it rationally, stripping away all the assumptions encrusted round it, it’s revealed to be nothing but a process of Nature.

It’s natural to mourn—even some animals grieve the loss of their young. But there are those who go beyond the natural bounds of grief and let themselves be swept away entirely by melancholy thoughts and passions. The wise man accepts his pain, endures it, but does not add to it.

lives of most men are tragedies of their own making. Men let themselves either get puffed up with pride or tormented by grievances. Everything they concern themselves with is fragile, trivial, and fleeting. We’re left with nowhere to stand firm. Amid the torrent of things rushing past, there’s nothing secure in which we can invest our hopes.

If someone hates you, Marcus says, that’s their problem. Your only concern is to avoid doing anything to deserve being hated.

just reminding yourself that it’s not events that are making you angry but your judgments about them will be enough to weaken the hold anger has on you