Meditations 6.48.1
Marcus Aurelius to himself
Ὅταν εὐφρᾶναι σεαυτὸν θέλῃς, ἐνθυμοῦ τὰ προτερήματα τῶν συμβιούντων· οἷον τοῦ μὲν τὸ δραστήριον, τοῦ δὲ τὸ αἰδῆμον, τοῦ δὲ τὸ εὐμετάδοτον, ἄλλου δὲ ἄλλο τι. οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως εὐφραίνει ὡς τὰ ὁμοιώματα τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐμφαινόμενα τοῖς ἤθεσι τῶν συζώντων καὶ ἀθρόα ὡς οἷόν τε συμπίπτοντα. διὸ καὶ πρόχειρα αὐτὰ ἑκτέον.
When you want to cheer yourself, consider the strengths of those who live with you: one person’s energy, another’s sense of shame, another’s readiness to share, and some other quality in someone else. Nothing cheers us like images of the virtues appearing in the characters of those around us, brought together as abundantly as possible. Keep these ready to hand.