Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (26 April 121 - 17 March 180) - Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good Emperors, and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161.

He has long been respected as embodying the Platonic concept of the Philosopher King as articulated in Plato’s Republic: a ruler who does not seek power for his own sake but to help his people. He was introduced to philosophy at a young age and his Meditations, composed while on campaign in his fifties, make clear that he held a deeply philosophical, specifically Stoic, view throughout his life.

He lived his philosophy in both his private and public life in that he consistently placed the needs of the people before his own desires or visions of glory and worked for the common good. Even so, he successfully conducted campaigns in Germania and managed the affairs of the empire efficiently. He died of natural causes following an illness in 180 CE and was instantly deified.

The timeline

• 26 April 121 - born in Spain
• 132 - Marcus Aurelius is introduced to philosophy by his teacher Diognetus
• 138 - Marcus Aurelius adopted by Antoninus Pius as successor
• 145 - Marcus Aurelius marries Faustina, daughter of Antoninus Pius.
• 9 March 161 - Marcus Aurelius rules with Lucius Verus
• October 166 - Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius celebrate a shared triumph, both are hailed as Pater Patriae.
• March 169 - Lucius Verus dies, Marcus Aurelius rules alone
• 170 - 180 - Marcus Aurelius leads campaigns against the Germanic tribes; writes his famous Meditations
• 175 - Marcus Aurelius tours eastern provinces of empire; his wife Faustina dies.
• 176 - A huge bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback is erected in Rome.
• 177 - Marcus Aurelius rules with Commodus
• 17 March 180 - died in Vindobona

Meditations

Aurelius’ Meditations is his true legacy to the world, far out-stripping any achievements of his reign, however notable they may have been.

The Meditations is far from a philosophical treatise, however; it is one man’s thoughts on life and the struggle to remain at peace with one’s self in a world which constantly threatens such peace. Aurelius’ answer to the problem is not an answer but a course of discipline in denying one’s self the luxury of self-pity. In accordance with the Stoic view, everything that happens in life is natural – sickness/health, satisfaction/disappointment, joy/sadness, even death – and it is only one’s interpretation of events which can trouble a person. The logos, which controls all things, controls one’s fate as well but, even so, a human being still has the freedom to choose how to respond to circumstance.

You can read this masterpiece for free here: Meditations