--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The perfection of moral character…" description: "\"The perfection of moral character consists in this, in passing every day as the last, and in being neither violently excited nor torpid nor playing the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/marcus-aurelius-139_character_the-perfection-of-moral-character-consis_1823847.jpg" --- # The perfection of moral character consists in this, in… ![“The perfection of moral character consists in this, in passing every day as the last, and in being neither violently excited nor torpid nor playing the hypocrite.” quote by Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/marcus-aurelius-139_character_the-perfection-of-moral-character-consis_1823847.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/marcus-aurelius-139_character_the-perfection-of-moral-character-consis_1823847.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/marcus-aurelius-139_character_the-perfection-of-moral-character-consis_1823847.jpg) > “The perfection of moral character consists in this, in passing every day as the last, and in being neither violently excited nor torpid nor playing the hypocrite.” [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. Moral excellence is living each day as if it were the last, avoiding extremes and hypocrisy. **In simple terms:** Live each day fully, balanced, sincere. Key Takeaway Practice daily mindfulness and moderation. Themes ethics self‑control authenticity Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily journaling - stress management - leadership training Key Concepts Stoicism virtue ethics Questions to Reflect On - What daily habits foster balance? - How to avoid hypocrisy in actions? A Different Perspective Human nature may find constant vigilance exhausting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Excited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excited/) [Hypocrite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrite/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-character/) [Passing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing/) [Passings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passings/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Perfection Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection-moral-2216292/) ## Related quotes > [We cannot possess the truth fully until it has entered into the very substance of our life by good habits, and by a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-cannot-possess-the-truth-fully-until-it-has-entered-into-the-very/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Perfection of moral virtue does not wholly take away the passions, but regulates them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/perfection-of-moral-virtue-does-not-wholly-take-away-the-passions-but/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [If you do the task before you always adhering to strict reason with zeal and energy and yet with humanity, disregarding all lesser ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/if-you-do-the-task-before-you-always-adhering-to-strict-reason-with/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Never value anything as profitable that compels you to break your promise, to lose your self-respect, to hate any man, to suspect, to curse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/never-value-anything-as-profitable-that-compels-you-to-break-your/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Never value anything as profitable to thyself which shall compel thee to break thy promise, to lose thy self-respect, to hate any man, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/never-value-anything-as-profitable-to-thyself-which-shall-compel-thee/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Either all things proceed from one intelligent source and come together as in one body, and the part ought not to find fault with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/either-all-things-proceed-from-one-intelligent-source-and-come/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [We embark unhesitatingly on the path, in a direction that is absolutely right and urgent, supported by everyone, in the knowledge that this path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehudi-menuhin/we-embark-unhesitatingly-on-the-path-in-a-direction-that-is/) [Yehudi Menuhin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehudi-menuhin/) > [If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation. Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession: "God, preserve my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/if-we-do-not-abide-in-prayer-we-will-abide-in-temptation-let-this-be/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [A good, finished scandal, fully armed and equipped, such as circulates in the world, is rarely the production of a single individual, or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/a-good-finished-scandal-fully-armed-and-equipped-such-as-circulates/) [Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/) > [Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/pay-no-heed-to-the-passing-religious-vogue-go-back-to-the-grass-roots/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [He brought a sensibility and a hard-edged reasonableness to operating restaurants that had a lasting impact on me and still affects how I run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bastianich/he-brought-a-sensibility-and-a-hard-edged-reasonableness-to-operating/) [Joe Bastianich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bastianich/) > [Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/many-years-ago-i-was-fishing-and-as-i-was-reeling-in-the-poor-fish-i/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [The sound man, immune as to a sacrifice of straw dogs, faces the passing human generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-sound-man-immune-as-to-a-sacrifice-of-straw-dogs-faces-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) ## 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 Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The perfection of moral character consists in this, in passing every day as the last, and in being neither violently excited nor torpid nor playing the hypocrite.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcus Aurelius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-perfection-of-moral-character-consists-in-this-in-passing-every/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-perfection-of-moral-character-consists-in-this-in-passing-every/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/marcus-aurelius-139_character_the-perfection-of-moral-character-consis_1823847.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/marcus-aurelius-139_character_the-perfection-of-moral-character-consis_1823847.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/marcus-aurelius-139_character_the-perfection-of-moral-character-consis_1823847.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The perfection of moral character consists in this, in passing every day as the last, and in being neither…” — 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": "The perfection of moral character consists...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-perfection-of-moral-character-consists-in-this-in-passing-every/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-perfection-of-moral-character-consists-in-this-in-passing-every/#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 } } ] } ```