Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

The Roman Empire that Marcus Aurelius ruled, from AD 161 until his death in 180, was, like the Grecian world which had birthed the Stoic school of philosophy, a troubled land. It had reached across Europe, as far as Britain, but faced external threats on its borders, particularly in Gaul and Persia, and at home there were famine, earthquake, fires and plague to contend with. Perhaps for these reasons stoicism was the most logical choice, especially for a man who had studied philosophy earnestly since the age of 20 and been raised in the Imperial court, with access to the inner workings of government and national affairs. His education had been "overseen" by the Emperor Hadrian, who apparently cherished a romantic interest in the youth, and he had been appointed to priesthood in 129, at age 8. This was not extraordinary in that place and time, but may help explain his dedication to philosophy above and beyond his other studies.

His contribution to philosophy was not the original thinking of a Plato or an Aristotle, but rather a refinement on the ethics of his predecessors. In his position at the head of the world's greatest empire, he was perhaps the world's most powerful man. Thus, his attitudes about behavior were not the idle speculations of an academic working over theories; he seemed instead to be formulating a mode of thought and life that would apply to all people in all eras, and he was in position to put these ideas into practice in a very public way. That he was worshipped as a demi-god for a century after his death is hardly surprising: Romans practiced ancestor worship as a matter of course, and had for centuries. Christians were still considered-and from the Empire's point of view, were-- a subversive cult and proper targets of persecution, which Marcus Aurelius himself was obliged to endorse and participate in, apparently in contradiction of his professed values (Online Dictionary of Philosophy). His attitude toward Christians was in keeping with the doctrine of the time, but he took particular exception to their manner of dying, which to his stoic mind lacked dignity. "How lovely the soul that is prepared--when its hour comes to slough off this flesh--for extinctions, dispersion, or survival! But this readiness should result from a personal decision, not from sheer contrariness like the Christians..." His message consistently focused on acceptance of the inevitable, although as Emperor he obviously believed in acting where possible or necessary to influence the course of events.

An avowed pacifist, he nevertheless took his responsibilities seriously, and served a series of grueling winter campaigns along the banks of the Danube, attempting to maintain Rome's borders against the Gauls. It was here that he composed the Meditations, his timeless aphorisms which pondered, rather than the great metaphysical and ethical questions which had preoccupied the Greeks, the minute acts of man; the everyday questions on what to do next. It was his attempt to make sense of the confused and turbulent situation in which he found himself.

"Of my mother I have learned to be religious, and bountiful; and to forbear, not only to do, but to intend any evil; to content myself with a spare diet, and to fly (sic) all such excess as is incidental to great wealth," he had written in His First Book, an autobiography in which he gave an account of his upbringing and education. Although he never explicitly identified himself as a Stoic, the thinking he shows us in this book is undoubtedly stoical in nature. He took pains to deny the various passions which were central to Roman life, which featured ostentatious, bloody circuses meant to distract and entertain citizens. He wrote against such behavior, possibly because of what he had seen in court, a life of deceit, intrigue and shifting loyalties. He had learned "not to busy myself about vain things, and not easily believe those things, which are commonly spoken, by such as take upon them to work wonders, and by sorcerers, or prestidigitators, and impostors; concerning the power of charms, and their driving out of demons, or evil spirits, and the like (Antonius His First Book). He was, beyond any doubt, a realist.

It is in the Meditations that we see his mind at work: he defines what it means to be a Stoic. "The attitude of that which rules within us towards outside events, if it is in accord with nature, is ever to adapt itself easily to what is possible in the given circumstances." (Meditations 1) For the ruler of a nation which had been grasping at all territory within reach for centuries, this was an astounding point of view.

His preoccupation with correct behavior shows us a man who took no action lightly, and worked hard to reconcile his own appetites and desires with what was possible. His aim was not the classic Roman ambition of conquest and domination, but to use reason as a way of finding lasting and reliable contentment in a world where these were rare commodities.

His work has remained popular with statesmen, students and writers since being re-introduced to the modern world in 1559.

"'Everything which happens, is right," Examine this saying carefully and you will find it so," (Meditations 10) he wrote, explaining further that right means just, not simply that which has the appearance of rightness. This calls for an examination of events that goes beyond whether it simply satisfies an immediate desire, in fact, it might be interpreted as a modern reader as the ability to "be philosophical" about what mean seem unfortunate or unjust. To accept, without regret or argument, the conditions of life as it is, rather than as one might wish it to be. Such an attitude appears far removed from the prevailing attitude in our own society, although nor perhaps in parts of the world not blessed by material affluence. Marcus Aurelias, in fact, might consider the blessings of the modern world positive hindrances to contentment. He would certainly find many of our consumerist assumptions to be outrageous distortions.

He repeatedly asks the reader, actually himself, in the Meditations, to take stock of his position in the grand scheme of things. One human life is inconsequential and brief. The rising and falling of nations can be seen in the same light, and he no doubt had clear insight into this parallel while locked in mortal struggle with the Gauls who contested the Roman frontiers. Perhaps he could see the handwriting on the wall, obvious to the historian of our era, but no doubt obscure to Romans living deep inside the Empire, who must have imagined that the Pax Romana would last for eternity.

Works Cited

Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius, His First Book

Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Baird & Kaufman, eds, Ancient Philosophy, Pearson Prentice Hall, 5^th ed. Princeton, 2008

Online Dictionary of Philosophy