Marcus Aurelius for the day

Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 A.D., and can probably be called a philosopher king. I found some of his surviving writings in his "Meditations" to be compelling when I read them a month or so ago. I plan to post some of my favorite quotes over time. It seems much of the work consisted of little pep talks to himself to encourage himself to be the best Roman he could be.

2.4 Remember how long you’ve been putting this off, how many extensions the gods gave you, and you didn’t use them. At some point you have to recognize what world it is that you belong to; what power rules it and from what source you spring; that there is a limit to the time assigned you, and if you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone and will never return.

and perhaps my favorite quote from the collection:

7.3 … But remembering that our own worth is measured by what we devote our energy to.

Quotes are from Marcus Aurelius "Meditations" (Gregory Hayes Translation)