Marcus Aurelius. Alone (№ 461930)

Do not act against your will, nor in conflict with the common good, nor as a person rash or influenced by some passion. Do not clothe your thoughts in pompous forms, do not get carried away by either long-winded speech or busy work. Let the deity in you be the leader of a being courageous, mature, devoted to the interests of the state; a Roman, invested with power, feeling himself in office, like a man who, not needing an oath or a guarantor, with a light heart awaits the call to leave life. And your soul will be light, and you will not need either outside help or that peace of mind that depends on others.