Marcus Aurelius

Discover the profound wisdom of the Stoic philosopher-king Marcus Aurelius with our collection of quotes and insights. From living in the present moment to cultivating inner peace, his teachings are as relevant today as they were centuries ago. Let his words inspire and guide you on your journey towards personal growth and self-mastery.

Where these lines come from

Partly true “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” A shortened paraphrase of Meditations 12.1. George Long’s translation: “if thou shalt be afraid not because thou must some time cease to live, but if thou shalt fear never to have begun to live according to nature”. The popular version drops “according to nature”, which is the point of the passage for a Stoic. Long translation

Twenty-eight more lines from Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca, each checked word for word with its book and section, are on the Stoic quote of the day page.

Each line was checked against the original text, or a named translation of it, in September 2026. How we check, and what we will not quote, is set out in our editorial standards.