A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires.
More Quotes from Marcus Aurelius:
We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies come from that.Marcus Aurelius
Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature's delight.
Marcus Aurelius
Let men see, let them know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live.
Marcus Aurelius
How strangely men act. They will not praise those who are living at the same time and living with themselves but to be themselves praised by posterity, by those whom they have never seen or ever will see, this they set much value on.
Marcus Aurelius
Always observe how ephemeral and worthless human things are. Pass then through this little space of time conformably to nature, and end thy journey in content, just as an olive falls off when it is ripe, blessing nature who produced it, and thanking the tree on which it grew.
Marcus Aurelius
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.
Marcus Aurelius
Readers Who Like This Quotation Also Like:
Based on Topics: Ambition Quotes, Idea Quotes, Man QuotesBased on Keywords: aspires, compares, estimates
The sound of 'gentle stillness' after all the thunder and wind have passed will the ultimate Word from God.
Jim Elliot
When a fellow says, "It ain't the money but the principle of the thing," it's the money.
Kin Hubbard
Heroism is endurance for one moment more.
George F. Kennan