I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.
Marcus AureliusRead
For outward show is a wonderful perverter of the reason.
Interpretation
The desire for external appearances can distort our judgment and reasoning.
In this quote, Marcus Aurelius highlights how the pursuit of superficial appearances can cloud our judgment and lead us away from rational thinking. This serves as a reminder that valuing outward show over inner truth can result in misguided beliefs and actions, encouraging us to seek deeper understanding rather than being swayed by what is merely visible.
In practice
During a philosophy discussion about the importance of inner values.
I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.
You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.
Vex not thy spirit at the course of things; they heed not thy vexation. How ludicrous and outlandish is astonishment at anything that may happen in life.
You don't have to turn this into something. It doesn't have to upset you. Things can't shape our decisions by themselves.
A man's worth is no greater than his ambitions.
Much of the conventional analysis of India's stature in the world relies on the all-too-familiar economic assumptions. But we are famously a land of paradoxes, and one of those paradoxes is that so many speak about India as a great power of the 21st century when we are not yet able to feed, educate and employ all our people.
The world is only tolerable because of the empty places in it...when the world's filled up, we'll have to get hold of a star. Any star. Venus, or Mars. Get hold of it and leave it empty. Man needs an empty space somewhere for his spirit to rest in.
I must not permit the evil capabilities of human nature to sour my faith in the tremendous good that is possible despite the frailty of that nature.
I can't for the life of me imagine that God would say, 'I will punish you because you are black; you should have been white. I will punish you because you are a woman; you should have been a man. I punish you because you are homosexual; you ought to have been heterosexual. I can't, I can't for the life of me believe that that is how God sees things.
The service we render to others is really the rent we pay for our room on this earth. It is obvious that man is himself a traveler; that the purpose of this world is not 'to have and to hold' but "to give and serve."
We must differentiate between guilt and duty. The soldier on the front, like the common man, who does his duty everywhere, should not be held responsible for the actions of a few who also called themselves Germans.
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