Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

How it begins

From my grandfather Verus[A] [I learned] good morals and the government of my temper. 2. From the reputation and remembrance of my father,[B] modesty and a manly character. 3. From my mother,[C] 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. 4. From my great-grandfather,[D] 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 liberally. [A] Annius Verus was his grandfather's name.