Monday, April 26, 2010

Meandering in thought . . .

Today is the birthday of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26, 121 – March 17,180), Roman emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors and is also, considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. He best known as Marcus Aurelius and for his work Meditations.

"The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it." - Marcus Aurelius

"And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last." - Marcus Aurelius

"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 Aurelius

"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

"Everything that happens happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so." - Marcus Aurelius

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." - Marcus Aurelius

"He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe." - Marcus Aurelius

Trivia bit: The date of his birth has been variously stated as the 6th, 21st and 26th of April.

Aurelius image source (1)



Today is the birthday of Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (April 26, 1889 – April 29, 1951), philosopher. Ludwig Wittgenstein is considered one of the most important figures in analytic philosophy and is oft referred to as the greatest philosopher of the 20th century.

"The difficulty in philosophy is to say no more than we know." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

"Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present. Our life has no end in the way in which our visual field has no limits." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

"Philosophy is like trying to open a safe with a combination lock: each little adjustment of the dials seems to achieve nothing, only when everything is in place does the door open." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

"Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

"There are, indeed, things that cannot be put into words. They make themselves manifest. They are what is mystical." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

"The mystical is not how the world is, but that it is." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

"Tell them I've had a wonderful life." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

Wittgenstein stamp image source (1)

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