Meditations From Marcus Aurelius - II

I recently read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, a version translated by Gregory Hays.  Aurelius was a Roman emperor during the 2nd century AD.  He was probably the closest example to a "philosopher king" that the world has ever known.  Aurelius was a follower of stoic philosphy which in many ways is quite close to Taoism or Zen Buddhism.  I'm including some of my favorite quotes here:

"In a sense, people are our proper occupation. Our job is to do them good and put up with them."

"Remember: Matter. How tiny your share of it. Time. How brief and fleeting your allotment of it. Fate. How small a role you play in it."

"Look inward. Don’t let the true nature or value of anything elude you."

"The best revenge is not to be like that."

"Speak the truth as you see it. But with kindness. With humility. Without hypocrisy."

"You can discard most of the junk that clutters your mind—things that exist only there—and clear out space for yourself: 

…by comprehending the scale of the world

…by contemplating infinite time

…by thinking of the speed which things change—each part of every thing; the narrow space between our birth and death; the infinite time before; the equally unbounded time that follows."