Plain
Marcus Aurelius — The Emperor

Come on, soul, keep hurting yourself. Keep thinking you're worthless. Soon enough, your time to value yourself will be over. Each person's happiness comes from within. But look — your life is almost done, and you're still refusing to respect yourself. You're letting your happiness depend on what other people think and say.

Meditations, Book 2, Section 3 Book 2 · 3 of 20
Knowing Yourself What Matters Most
Marcus Aurelius — The Emperor Original

Do, soul, do; abuse and contemn thyself; yet a while and the time for thee to respect thyself, will be at an end. Every man's happiness depends from himself, but behold thy life is almost at an end, whiles affording thyself no respect, thou dost make thy happiness to consist in the souls, and conceits of other men.

Meditations, Book 2, Section 3 Book 2 · 3 of 20
Marcus Aurelius — The Emperor

Make it your constant focus as a Roman and as a human being to do whatever you're doing with real seriousness, natural kindness, honesty, and fairness. Let go of all other worries and thoughts that clutter your mind. You can do this if you approach every action as if it were your last. Be free from vanity, from emotional reactions that go against reason, from pretense, from selfishness, and from complaining about what fate or God has given you. You can see that the things needed to live well and to live like the gods intended are not many. The gods ask nothing more from anyone who keeps and follows these simple things.

Meditations, Book 2, Section 2 Book 2 · 2 of 20
Doing The Right Thing What Matters Most
Marcus Aurelius — The Emperor Original

Let it be thy earnest and incessant care as a Roman and a man to perform whatsoever it is that thou art about, with true and unfeigned gravity, natural affection, freedom and justice: and as for all other cares, and imaginations, how thou mayest ease thy mind of them. Which thou shalt do; if thou shalt go about every action as thy last action, free from all vanity, all passionate and wilful aberration from reason, and from all hypocrisy, and self-love, and dislike of those things, which by the fates or appointment of God have happened unto thee. Thou seest that those things, which for a man to hold on in a prosperous course, and to live a divine life, are requisite and necessary, are not many, for the gods will require no more of any man, that shall but keep and observe these things.

Meditations, Book 2, Section 2 Book 2 · 2 of 20
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Ancient philosophy, in plain English.

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