Anything in any way beautiful derives its beauty from itself and asks nothing beyond itself. Praise is no part of it, for nothing is made worse or better by praise. – Marcus Aurelius
Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. – Marcus Aurelius
Aptitude found in the understanding and is often inherited. Genius coming from reason and imagination, rarely. – Marcus Aurelius
If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. – Marcus Aurelius
Against Him those women sin who torment their skin with potions, stain their cheeks with rouge and extend the line of their eyes with black coloring. Doubtless they are dissatisfied with God’s plastic skill. In their own persons they convict and censure the Artificer of all things. – Tertullian