“The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”

— Marcus Aurelius , book Meditations

Misattributed
Source: The first citation appears in a translation of Leo Tolstoy's Bethink Yourselves! http://www.nonresistance.org/docs_htm/Tolstoy/~Bethink_Yourselves/BY_chapter08.html by NONRESISTANCE.ORG. The claim made that it is from Marcus Aurelius. Nothing closely resembling it appears in Meditations, nor does it appear in a 1904 translation of Bethink Yourselves http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/bethink-yourselves/8/. The 1904 translation may be abridged, whereas the NONRESISTANCE.ORG translation claims to be unabridged.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Aug. 2, 2022. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." by Marcus Aurelius?

Marcus Aurelius 400

Emperor of Ancient Rome 121–180

Related quotes

“Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

Alternate (also Twain's): Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Source: Mark Twain's Notebook (1935), p. 393

“I believe one has to escape oneself to discover oneself.”

Rabih Alameddine (1959) Lebanese-American painter and writer.

Source: I, The Divine: A Novel in First Chapters

“Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives.”

John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter

"What Can I Tell You about Myself which You Have Not Already Found Out from Those Who Do Not Lie?" in The Beatles Anthology (2000)
Context: Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. … I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.