The Death of Marcus Aurelius

The Death of Marcus Aurelius

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Wisdom from the Early Cynics, Antisthenes 5


Being asked what was the height of human bliss, he replied, "To die happy." 

When a friend complained to him that he had lost his notes, "You should have inscribed them," said he, "on your mind instead of on paper." 

As iron is eaten away by rust, so, said he, the envious are consumed by their own passion. 

Those who would fain be immortal must, he declared, live piously and justly. 

States, said he, are doomed when they are unable to distinguish good men from bad. 

Once, when he was applauded by rascals, he remarked, "I am horribly afraid I have done something wrong."

When brothers agree, no fortress is so strong as their common life, he said. 

The right outfit for a voyage, he said, is such as, even if you are shipwrecked, will go through the water with you.

—Diogenes Laërtius, 6.5



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