Marcus Aurelius Quotes

What millions died – that Caesar might be great!

And Caesar shall go forth.

I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.

All comparisons between America's current place in the world and anything legitimately called an empire in the past reveal ignorance and confusion about any reasonable meaning of the concept empire, especially the comparison with the Roman Empire.

Either Caesar Or Nothing Aut Caesar aut Nihil

Would that the Roman people had but one neck!

You gotta take care of yourself; you can't do anything in excess.

The ancients understood the regulation of power better than the regulation of liberty.

There's a certain amount of tyranny in all of us to some extent, and in some people it's much more developed than in others. It's a different balance which makes us all different.

At the height of the British Empire very few English novels were written that dealt with British power. It's extraordinary that at the moment in which England was the global superpower the subject of British power appeared not to interest most writers.

The heart is great which shows moderation in the midst of prosperity.

It is the sign of a great mind to dislike greatness, and to prefer things in measure to things in excess.

You know, the Brits had a way of - running an empire. And I don't think America is comfortable with an empire.

How is the Empire?

Be wise; soar not too high to fall; but stoop to rise.

Ignorance is an evil weed, which dictators may cultivate among their dupes, but which no democracy can afford among its citizens.

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.

The fellow that has power is the one who uses it sparingly ... I had more power when I went into office than when I went out.

The cultivation of the ego must recognize bounds in the lives of states as in private life, in order not to be reduced to absurdity.

He who is content with a moderate victory is always most successful; for those who would more than conquer, commonly lose.

Know, sir, that the first place in the empire is mine. From God I hold my power and my crown, and I depute them to no man--I alone reign in Austria.

Having conceived a violent enmity to them Caligula [The Roman Emperor] took possession of the synagogues in the other cities after beginning with those of Alexandria, by filling them with images and statues of himself...

The United States although a superpower was never an empire..

Do not keep silent when your own ideas and values are being attacked. If a dictatorship ever comes to this country, it will be by the default of those who keep silent. We are still free enough to speak. Do we have time? No one can tell.

The ministers of kings should learn to moderate their ambition. The higher they elevate themselves above their proper sphere, the greater the danger that they will fall.