Sunday, September 12, 2010

Sunday Quote



Every summer vacation I re-read the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. It always reinvigorates my heart and prepares my mind for the inexorable vicissitudes of life. A few choice selections:

"Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live."

"Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature's delight."

"What more do you want, man, from a kind act? Is it not enough that you have done something consonant with your own nature- do you now put a price on it?"

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive--to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."

"Remember that man’s life lies all within this present, as it were but a hair’s-breadth of time; as for the rest, the past is gone, the future yet unseen. Short, therefore, is man’s life, and narrow is the corner of the earth wherein he dwells."

"Each of us lives only the present moment, and the present moment is all we lose."

"The soul is dyed by our thoughts."

"Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretence."

3 comments:

FaST Surgeon said...

Thank you.

Sincerely.

Unknown said...

Those are some great selections, some I had not really noticed before. One of my favorites:
"Let the spirit in you represent a man, an adult, a citizen, a Roman, a ruler. Take up his post like a soldier and patiently awaiting his recall from life. Needing no oath or witness."

Thanks Buckeye, good stuff as always!

Anonymous said...

OMG you read "The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius" to??????
"Vicissitudes"???
Really? try droppin that word into casual conservation sometime, thats why noone takes the Big 10 seriously.
You never heard Bear Bryant talkin about "Vicissitudes" unless that was the first name of some 5 Star Defensive Back...
But thanks for reminding me, gotta get my Oil Vicissituded today...

Frank