All things are connected—bound together and sacred. Nothing is not connected. All things combine to comprise the universe. There is one universe, made up of all things, and all things are one divinity who pervades all things and and is all substance. All operate within one law and the same comprehension and truth pervades all … More Marcus Aurelius, from Exhortations to Himself
Always and everywhere, it is in your power to accept what is happening, to act justly to those around you, and to use your skills to control your thoughts so that nothing slips into them without examination. Don’t be looking for what principles motivate other people. Rather, look straight at what nature leads you to … More Marcus Aurelius “Three Rules”
8. Forget about controlling what happens; learn to wish that everything that happens happens just as it happens. Then . . . all will go exactly as planned.
After you have done something, ask yourself: Was that right to do? Should I be sorry? Soon enough, I will be dead and gone. What more can I do, as long as my action is in accord with that of an intelligent, social animal who lives with the same laws as all the universe? (VIII.2)
Ovid wrote, ”Philosophers do not carry into effect all that they teach.” True. But philosophers do affect some for good through their noble conceptions. Indeed, they would be much happier if they could live up to their own words! Despite human shortcomings, we have no cause to despise the good sayings of good hearts. Even … More Seneca, from Book XX, “Of a Happy Life”
meditations, translations 