Meditations
The Private Notebook of a Roman Emperor
You don’t control what happens — only how you meet it. The obstacle is the way, the present is all you ever hold, and a good life is simply the steady practice of reason, justice, and acceptance.
Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire from 161 to 180 AD. “Meditations” was never meant for readers — it’s the private notebook he kept for himself, campaign after campaign, working through Stoic philosophy as a set of instructions to a man who had to govern an empire and still stay sane.
A few lines worth keeping:
The obstacle is the way.
You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
The only thing we have complete control over is our own thoughts.
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.
The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.
He who fears death will never do anything worthy of a man who is alive.
Appears in think → forward