Marcus Aurelius Quotes

“In his youth, Marcus saw his role in life as that of a philosopher, not a future emperor, and had no faith that the two could be reconciled.”
― Donald J. Robertson, Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor

“Marcus Aurelius did not have a heart of stone. When the news was brought to him that one of his most beloved tutors had died, the young Caesar was distraught, and tears poured down his cheeks. He perhaps started to beat his chest, and tear his clothes in grief. Palace servants, afraid his reputation would be harmed by such a public display of raw emotion, rushed to his side, trying to restrain him. His adoptive father, the emperor Antoninus Pius, a thoughtful and gentle man, gestured for them to step aside. He whispered: “Let him be only a man for once; for neither philosophy nor empire takes away natural feeling.”
― Donald J. Robertson, Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor