ANTONINUS

A man makes no noise over a good deed, but passes on to another as a vine to bear grapes again in season.

A man should be upright, not be kept upright.

A wrong-doer is often a man that has left something undone, not always he that has done something.

All that happens is as usual and familiar as the rose in spring and the crop in summer.

All that is harmony for thee, O Universe, is in harmony with me as well. Nothing that comes at the right time for thee is too early or too late for me. Everything is fruit to me that thy seasons bring, O Nature. All things come of thee, have their being in thee, and return to thee.

As surgeons keep their instruments and knives always at hand for cases requiring immediate treatment, so shouldest thou have thy thoughts ready to understand things divine and human, remembering in thy every act, even the smallest, how close is the bond that unites the two.

Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at ahnd: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.

Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought.

Blot out vain pomp; check impulse; quench appetite; keep reason under its own control.

By a tranquil mind I mean nothing else than a mind well ordered.

Death, like generation, is a secret of Nature.

Doth perfect beauty stand in need of praise at all? Nay; no more than law, no more than truth, no more than loving kindness, nor than modesty.

Every man is worth just so much as the things are worth about which he busies himself.

For a life that is sound and secure, cultivate a thorough insight into things and discover their essence, matter, and cause; put your whole heart into doing what is just, and speaking what is true; and for the rest, know the joy of life by piling good deed on good deed until no rift or cranny appears between them.