Marcus Aurelius on the best revenge

February 17, 2026 Mike Zonta Leave a comment

“To refrain from imitation is the best revenge.”

― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

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“To refrain from imitation is the best revenge” is a famous Stoic quote from Marcus Aurelius‘ Meditations (Book 6, verse 6), often cited on Goodreads. It means the most effective way to deal with wrongdoers is to maintain your integrity and not lower yourself to their level of behavior.

Key Aspects of the Quote:

Origin: The quote comes from Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius in his work Meditations.
Meaning: It advises against mimicking the poor behavior, immorality, or emotional reactions of those who harm you.
Translations: Variations include “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury” and “The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrongdoer”.
Context: It promotes taking the high road and maintaining virtue rather than seeking vengeance, which Stoics believed only gives power to the offender.

This quote highlights the Stoic focus on controlling one’s own actions and reactions rather than focusing on the wrongdoings of others.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors and the … Wikipedia

Born: April 26, 121 AD, Rome, Italy

Died: March 17, 180 AD

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Quotes

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“A change in the weather is sufficient to re-create the world and ourselves.”
— Marcel Proust

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
— George Bernard Shaw

“. . . the only difference between you and God is that you have forgotten that you are divine.”
— Peter Solomon in The Lost Symbol

“Have an open-mind, but don’t let your brains fall out.”
— Jacob Needleman

“When thought races ahead of Being, a civilization is racing towards destruction.”
— Jacob Needleman in his new book What is God?

“A great man knows he is not God, and the greater he is the better he knows it.”
— G.K. Chesterton

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only at night.”
— Edgar Allan Poe

“Give thanks to unknown blessings already on their way.”
— Native American proverb at cafe in San Francisco

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”
–e.e. cummings

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Bathtub Bulletin

Marcus Aurelius on the best revenge

“To refrain from imitation is the best revenge.”

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Consciousness, sexuality, androgyny, futurism, space, the arts, science, astrology, democracy, humor, books, movies and more