Antoninus Pius

"A man must stand erect, not be kept erect by others."

"Ask yourself at every moment: 'Is this necessary?'"

"No one can rob you of your free will."

"Either there is fate, and we must accept it, or there is free will, and we must take responsibility."

"The impediment to action becomes the action itself."

"If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it."

"Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun."

"Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do."

"There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance."

"Does what happened keep you from acting with justice, generosity, self-control, sanity, prudence, honesty, humility, straightforwardness, and all other qualities that allow a person's nature to fulfill itself?"

"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts."

"Tranquility is the highest good."

"Soon you'll be ashes or bone. A mere nothing at all."

"It is in your power to withdraw yourself whenever you desire. Perfect tranquility within consists in the good ordering of the mind."

"Confine yourself to the present."

"Each of us lives only now, this brief instant. The rest has been lived already, or is impossible to see."

"Forget everything but these two truths: there is good and evil; the consequences belong to each."

"To the wise, all things are forgiven, because they understand the causes."

"How small a part of the boundless and unfathomable time is assigned to every man."

"Good people do not leave the world better; they leave the world moving toward better."

"Man loves life despite pain."

"A man may even cause disasters through his deliberate mistakes, yet he will not regret his nature or his character."

"If you have done wrong, expect punishment as a natural consequence."

"Have patience with all that is unsolved in your heart."

"Everything we see is a perspective, not the absolute truth."

"You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do."

"The universe will continue. The universe is just and kind."

"Nothing can happen to you that nature hasn't equipped you to handle."

"Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof."

"You exist as an individual only as long as you maintain your own integrity."