--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That which makes the man no worse than he…" description: "\"That which makes the man no worse than he was makes his life no worse: it has no power to harm, without or within.\" — Marcus Aurelius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/marcus-aurelius-139_harm_that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-h_1518993.jpg" --- # That which makes the man no worse than he was makes his… ![“That which makes the man no worse than he was makes his life no worse: it has no power to harm, without or within.” quote by Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/marcus-aurelius-139_harm_that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-h_1518993.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/marcus-aurelius-139_harm_that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-h_1518993.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/marcus-aurelius-139_harm_that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-h_1518993.jpg) > “That which makes the man no worse than he was makes his life no worse: it has no power to harm, without or within.” [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If something cannot harm you, it holds no power over you, preserving your integrity. **In simple terms:** Harmless things lack power. Key Takeaway Focus on internal strength. Themes resilience self‑control philosophy Mood thoughtful steady Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - stressful situations - conflict resolution - personal setbacks Key Concepts stoicism inner freedom ethics Questions to Reflect On - What does you consider harmless? - How can you maintain calm when challenged? A Different Perspective External events can still affect emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-longer-we-dwell-on-our-misfortunes-the-greater-is-their-power-to/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“I laughed at them. Not because I thought they had no power to harm me, but because they had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/i-laughed-at-them-not-because-i-thought-they-had-no-power-to-harm-me/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [“A man with power protects and serves those lesser than he. It is only the weak who use their power to do harm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ford/a-man-with-power-protects-and-serves-those-lesser-than-he-it-is-only/) [Rhys Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ford/) > [Politicians have immense power to do harm to the economy. But they have very little power to do good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/politicians-have-immense-power-to-do-harm-to-the-economy-but-they/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [The power to do good is also the power to do harm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-power-to-do-good-is-also-the-power-to-do-harm/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [Thou hast not half that power to do me harm As I have to be hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-not-half-that-power-to-do-me-harm-as-i-have-to-be-hurt/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Government is never more dangerous than when our desire to have it help us blinds us to its great power to harm us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/government-is-never-more-dangerous-than-when-our-desire-to-have-it/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“The meek don't give up their power to "win" in order to be godly--they give up using their power to harm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-kauffman/the-meek-don-t-give-up-their-power-to-win-in-order-to-be-godly-they/) [Katy Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-kauffman/) > [As thou directest the power, harm or advantage will follow, and the torrent that swept the valley may be led to turn a mill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/as-thou-directest-the-power-harm-or-advantage-will-follow-and-the/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [If originally it was not good for a man to be alone, it is much worse for a sick man to be so; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/if-originally-it-was-not-good-for-a-man-to-be-alone-it-is-much-worse/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Pride in the case of a rich man is bad, but pride in the case of a poor man is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-bakr/pride-in-the-case-of-a-rich-man-is-bad-but-pride-in-the-case-of-a/) [Abu Bakr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-bakr/) > [A man has no worse enemy than himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/a-man-has-no-worse-enemy-than-himself/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Man is always worse than most people suspect, but also generally better than most people dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/man-is-always-worse-than-most-people-suspect-but-also-generally/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Be sure that religion cannot be right that a man is the worse for having.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/be-sure-that-religion-cannot-be-right-that-a-man-is-the-worse-for/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Taking all the round of professions and occupations, you will find that every man is the worse for being poor; and the doctor is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/taking-all-the-round-of-professions-and-occupations-you-will-find/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by Marcus Aurelius > [A man should be upright, not kept upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/a-man-should-be-upright-not-kept-upright/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Everything is mere opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/everything-is-mere-opinion/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [If any man has done wrong, the harm is his own. But perhaps he has not done wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-any-man-has-done-wrong-the-harm-is-his-own-but-perhaps-he-has-not/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [My true Self is free. I cannot be contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/my-true-self-is-free-i-cannot-be-contained/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-best-revenge-is-to-be-unlike-him-who-performed-the-injury/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Nothing befalls any man which he is not fitted to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/nothing-befalls-any-man-which-he-is-not-fitted-to-endure/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people's actions, and see what they would be at, as often as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/let-it-be-your-constant-method-to-look-into-the-design-of-people-s/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Our life is a warfare, and a mere pilgrimage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/our-life-is-a-warfare-and-a-mere-pilgrimage/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“If therefore it be a thing external that causes thy grief, know, that it is not that properly that doth cause it, but thine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-therefore-it-be-a-thing-external-that-causes-thy-grief-know-that/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What's closer to nature's heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/frightened-of-change-but-what-can-exist-without-it-what-s-closer-to/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-are-too-much-accustomed-to-attribute-to-a-single-cause-that-which/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself, "I have to go to work - as a human being. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/at-dawn-when-you-have-trouble-getting-out-of-bed-tell-yourself-i-have/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) [Explore all 1,138 Marcus Aurelius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) ## More Harm quotes > [This welfare for wealthy companies wastes taxpayer dollars, harms the environment, and makes a mockery of the recent reductions in federal social spending programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/this-welfare-for-wealthy-companies-wastes-taxpayer-dollars-harms-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. 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No need to chase girls, I've thousands of them on Top Of The Pops,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-savile/i-ve-never-done-anybody-any-harm-in-my-entire-life-no-need-to-chase/) [Jimmy Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-savile/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [I think what bothers us about fighting sports isn't the damage to the athlete but the fact that you win by doing more harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gottschall/i-think-what-bothers-us-about-fighting-sports-isn-t-the-damage-to-the/) [Jonathan Gottschall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gottschall/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-is-no-question-but-that-nominally-religious-scientists-like/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [If any man has done wrong, the harm is his own. But perhaps he has not done wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-any-man-has-done-wrong-the-harm-is-his-own-but-perhaps-he-has-not/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Be Kind - If not, Bring No Harm”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-r-west/be-kind-if-not-bring-no-harm/) Bianca R. West > [“In quixotically trying to conquer death doctors all too frequently do no good for their patients’ “ease” but at the same time they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/in-quixotically-trying-to-conquer-death-doctors-all-too-frequently-do/) [Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/) > [Speak only the speech that neither torments self nor does harm to others. That speech is truly well spoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/speak-only-the-speech-that-neither-torments-self-nor-does-harm-to/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“I have noticed that nothing I have never said ever did me any harm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/i-have-noticed-that-nothing-i-have-never-said-ever-did-me-any-harm/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [I've said before, the number one thing that we have to work on is protecting the gay community from sharia law. Now, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foster-friess/i-ve-said-before-the-number-one-thing-that-we-have-to-work-on-is/) [Foster Friess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foster-friess/) [Browse all 2,207 Harm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That which makes the man no worse than he was makes his life no worse: it has no power to harm, without or within.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcus Aurelius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-he-was-makes-his-life-no-worse/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Harm" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-he-was-makes-his-life-no-worse/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/marcus-aurelius-139_harm_that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-h_1518993.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/marcus-aurelius-139_harm_that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-h_1518993.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/marcus-aurelius-139_harm_that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-h_1518993.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That which makes the man no worse than he was makes his life no worse: it has no power to harm, without or…” — Marcus Aurelius", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marcus Aurelius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That which makes the man no...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-he-was-makes-his-life-no-worse/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/that-which-makes-the-man-no-worse-than-he-was-makes-his-life-no-worse/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```