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. – Marcus Aurelius
Be content with what you are, and wish not change nor dread your last day, nor long for it. – Marcus Aurelius
Let it be your constant method to look into the design of peoples 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. – Marcus Aurelius
Always observe how ephemeral and worthless human things are. Pass then through this little space of time conformably to nature, and end thy journey in content, just as an olive falls off when it is ripe, blessing nature who produced it, and thanking the tree on which it grew. – Marcus Aurelius