The Meditations
By Marcus Aurelius
From my grandfather, Verus, I learned good morals
and the government of my temper.
From the reputation and remembrance of my father,
modesty and a manly character.
From my mother, piety and beneficence, and abstinence,
not only from evil deeds, but even from evil
thoughts; and further, simplicity in my way of living,
far removed from the habits of the rich.
From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented
public schools, and to have had good teachers at home,
and to know that on such things a man should spend
freely.