Marcus Aurelius Quotes about Art

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.

Life, Art, Philosophical

Marcus Aurelius (Emperor of Rome), George Maximilian Anthony Grube (1963). “The meditations”, Bobbs-Merrill Company

Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, sea-shores, and mountains; and thou too art wont to desire such things very much. But this is altogether a mark of the most common sort of men, for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself. For nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire than into his own soul.

Marcus Aurelius

Country, Art, Men

Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (2016). “Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Golden Sayings, Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus, Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion”, p.38, Enhanced Media Publishing

Nature in no case cometh short of art, for the arts are copiers of natural forms.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Philosophy, History

But if anything in thy own dispositiongives thee pain, who hinders thee from correcting thy opinion? And even if thou art pained because thou art not doing some particular thing which seems to thee to be right, why dost thou not rather act than complain?- But some insuperable obstacle is in the way?- Do not be grieved then, for the cause of its not being done depends not on thee.- But it is not worth while to live if this cannot be done.- Take thy departure then from life contentedly, just as he dies who is in full activity, and well pleased too with the things which are obstacles.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Pain, Complaining

Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (2016). “Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Golden Sayings, Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus, Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion”, p.92, Enhanced Media Publishing

Everything is in a state of metamorphosis. Thou thyself art in everlasting change and in corruption to correspond; so is the whole universe.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Metamorphosis, Corruption

"Meditations". Book by Marcus Aurelius. Book IX, 19. "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th edition", 1919.

Within ten days thou wilt seem a god to those to whom thou art now a beast and an ape, if thou wilt return to thy principles and the worship of reason.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Atheism, Principles

Marcus Aurelius (2016). “Meditations”, p.23, Enhanced Media Publishing

What matter and opportunity [for thy activity] art thou avoiding? For what else are all these things, except exercises for the reason, when it has viewed carefully and by examination into their nature the things which happen in life? Persevere then until thou shalt have made these things thy own, as the stomach which is strengthened makes all things its own, as the blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Exercise, Opportunity

Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (2015). “Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Golden Sayings Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion”, p.62, Lulu.com

Consider when thou art much vexed or grieved, that man's life is only a moment, and after a short time we are all laid out dead.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Men, Life Is

Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (2016). “Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Golden Sayings, Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus, Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion”, p.123, Enhanced Media Publishing

This thou must always bear in mind, what is the nature of the whole, and what is my nature, and how this is related to that, and what kind of a part it is of what kind of a whole; and that there is no one who hinders thee from always doing and saying the things which are according to the nature of which thou art a part.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Mind, Bears

Marcus Aurelius (2015). “Meditations”, p.23, Sheba Blake Publishing

No form of nature is inferior to art; for the arts merely imitate natural forms.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Nature, Natural

"Meditations". Book by Marcus Aurelius, XI, 10. "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th edition", 1919.

Art thou angry with him whose armpits stink? Art thou angry with him whose mouth smells foul?

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Smell, Mouths

Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (2016). “Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Golden Sayings, Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus, Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion”, p.57, Enhanced Media Publishing

Thou art a little soul bearing about a corpse.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Soul, Littles

Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (2016). “Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Golden Sayings, Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus, Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion”, p.46, Enhanced Media Publishing

As thou thyself art a component part of a social system, so let every act of thine be a component part of social life. Whatever act of thine that has no reference, either immediately or remotely, to a social end, this tears asunder thy life, and does not allow it to be one, and it is of the nature of a mutiny, just as when in a popular assembly a man acting by himself stands apart from the general agreement.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Men, Tears

馬可•奧里略 (Marcus Aurelius) (2014). “沉思錄:讀了一百年還要再讀一百年的不朽鉅著”, p.247, 德威國際文化

To them that ask: Where hast thou seen the Gods, or how knowest thou certainly that there be Gods, that thou art so devout in their worship? I answer: Neither have I seen my own soul, and yet I respect and honor it.

Marcus Aurelius

Respect, Art, Soul

Anything that is beautiful is beautiful just as it is. Praise forms no part of its beauty, since praise makes things neither better nor worse. This applies even more to what it commonly called beautiful: natural objects, for example, or works of art. True beauty has no need of anything beyond itself.

Marcus Aurelius

Beauty, Beautiful, Art

Enough of this wretched life and murmuring and apish tricks. Why art thou disturbed? What is there new in this? What unsettles thee? Is it the form of the thing? Look at it. Or is it the matter? Look at it. But besides these there is nothing. Towards the gods, then, now become at last more simple and better. It is the same whether we examine these things for a hundred years or three.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Simple, Years

Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius (2012). “Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus”, p.214, tredition

When thou art above measure angry, bethink thee how momentary is man's life.

Marcus Aurelius

Life, Art, Anger

When thou art offended at any man's fault, forthwith turn to thyself and reflect in what manner thou doest error thyself. For by attending to this thou wilt quickly forget thy anger, if this consideration is also added, that the man is compelled; for what else could he do? or, if thou art able, take away from him the compulsion.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Men, Errors

"Meditations". Book by Marcus Aurelius. Book X, 30,

All things are changing; and thou thyself art in continuous mutation and in a manner in continuous destruction and the whole universe to.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Mutation, Destruction

Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (2016). “Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Golden Sayings, Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus, Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion”, p.100, Enhanced Media Publishing

Think of the universal substance, of which thou has a very small portion; and of universal time, of which a short and indivisible interval has been assigned to thee; and of that which is fixed by destiny, and how small a part of it thou art

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Destiny, Thinking

Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (2015). “Stoic Six Pack: Meditations of Marcus Aurelius The Golden Sayings Fragments and Discourses of Epictetus Letters from a Stoic and The Enchiridion”, p.27, Lulu.com

Continuously thou wilt look at human things as smoke and nothing at all; especially if thou reflectest at the same time, that what has once changed will never exist again in the infinite duration of time. But thou, in what a brief space of time is thy existence? And why art thou not content to pass through this short time in an orderly way?

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Space, Looks

Marcus Aurelius Antonius (2016). “The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius”, p.89, Jester House Publishing via PublishDrive

Either all things proceed from one intelligent source and come together as in one body, and the part ought not to find fault with what is done for the benefit of the whole; or there are only atoms, and nothing else than a mixture and dispersion. Why, then, art thou disturbed? Say to this ruling faculty, Art thou dead, art thou corrupted, art thou playing the hypocrite, art thou become a beast, dost thou herd and feed with the rest?

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Hypocrite, Intelligent

Marcus Aurelius Antonius (2016). “The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius”, p.80, Jester House Publishing via PublishDrive

The universal nature has no external space; but the wondrous part of her art is that though she has circumscribed herself, everything which is within her which appears to decay and to grow old and to be useless she changes into herself, and again makes other new things from these very same, so that she requires neither substance from without nor wants a place into which she may cast that which decays. She is content then with her own space, and her own matter, and her own art.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Space, Decay

"Meditations". Book by Marcus Aurelius. Book VIII, 50,

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in so far as it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall.

Marcus Aurelius

Art, Fall, Wrestling

Marcus Aurelius Quotes about Art

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