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Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He was the last of the Five Good
Emperors, and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. He famously
wrote down and collected his thoughts, putting on paper his view of how life should be lived.
The twelve books that consist of these personal writings are called “Meditations.” It is widely
agreed their purpose was to guide the emperor as a tool for self-improvement and were only
intended for personal use. However, by leaving them behind, Marcus inadvertently left the world
the opportunity to benefit from his wisdom.
Aurelius’ philosophy and approach to life were the ones of stoicism, meaning the readers
of his books have the chance to see how a Roman emperor might try to live a stoic life. This in
itself is unique and intriguing, since stoicism dictates that only virtue is good, only vice is bad,
and all the other things we worry ourselves with are indifferent .The Stoics defined the good as
"what is complete according to nature for a rational being qua rational being" (Cicero Fin.
III.33). As explained above, the perfected nature of a rational being is precisely the perfection of
reason, and the perfection of reason is virtue Conversely, the only thing that necessitates misery
and is “bad” or “evil” is the corruption of reason, namely vice. All other things were judged
neither good nor evil, but instead fell into the class of “indifferents.” Indifferents neither benefit
nor harm since they can be used well and badly.
As a student of the stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius succeeded in facing the difficulties
in life without being miserable. Speaking of stoic philosophy, one meaning of Stoicism is as a
Greek school of thought originating around 300 BC. Another meaning is as a noun and actually
means: “the quality or behavior of a person who accepts what happens without complaining or
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showing emotion.”1 In other terms, it teaches that submitting to the law of the universe (or how
things are and become on their own) is the righteous way for humans to live. People who
consider themselves stoic pursue the greater good over their own, have an independent mind and
take full responsibility for their actions, since stoicism emphasized on duty, reason, avoiding
pleasure and no fear of death. The stoic doctrines are on full display in “Meditations”, where the
emperor expresses a number of typical ideas of this school of thought: how one should not be
mad at others, but see them as brothers and sisters, children of the same God; how true happiness
lies in virtue, which is only in one’s power. He often uses technical stoic terminology without
further explanation, which supports the conclusion these writings were only intended for
personal use. Otherwise, it is argued, additional information would have been left to better
understand the context of Marcus’ thoughts. It is true there are no other examples of this kind of
writing for comparison. However, Epictetus’ advised to write down the sorts of reactions one has
to situations he encounters, so that one can find them useful in the chance they face similar
situations.2 This potentially explains the form of writing and further supports the thesis that
Marcus Aurelius wrote for his own self-guidance and pursuit of virtue.
But even with the ideals he held, Marcus Aurelius, upheld slavery, which contradicts the
ideals he held, at least from the modern perspective. Even in his day to day activities, the
emperor surely benefited greatly from his interaction with servants working for him not of their
own free will. However, this practice is rarely mentioned throughout the extensive work he left
behind. This poses the question of why the emperor did not fight against slavery in the Roman
Empire and if he even considered taking such action. A possible answer as to why Aurelius does
not seem interested or even aware of this problem can also be found in stoicism. After all, if the
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“stoicism.” n.p. Merriam-Webster. © 2014 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. N.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
“Epictetus (55–135 C.E.)” Keith H. Seddon. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ISSN 2161-0002. N.d. Web.
Nov. 2014
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universe chose that those who serve him were slaves, and his fate was much greater, he could do
nothing but accept it.
Moreover, the emperor would agree that one cannot pursue perfection all the time. The
goal of his books is to push towards rationality and change for the better, so it is safe to assume
he had accepted the notion of his own imperfection. Why else would he need a reminder to
uphold the principles of stoicism? Marcus seems to agree human beings always had a choice, and
because of that choice they are not fully determined beings. He often emphasized on how one
should accept people and things the way they are, not the way one wants them to be – the
ultimate right choice for living a righteous life. In that regard, the philosophical stance of the
author does not necessarily seem like a great way to live. Maybe instead of always expecting the
worst from people, one should sometimes expect the best, since people often meet our
expectations regardless of their nature.
“Meditations” is not simply an ancient emperor’s diary full of good advice – its very
theme is imperfection. Stoic philosophy puts things in a clearly distinct perspective, defining the
things that matter. It is not up to us to judge why people act the way they do or why things
happen; it is to do everything in our own power to live well. Trying to change the world is
foolish, for changing things are often out of our control. On the contrary, a wise man would
know his nature and tend to his obligations. There is a larger meaning of events and lives which
escapes us, so one should not get over themselves in how they interact with the universe. There
is a lot of comfort in this “knowledge.” This and many others of the ideas Aurelius presents are
quite reasonable. He emphasizes a lot on human mortality. According to his understanding, one
should not worry about fame and posterity, because after he dies he will not be around to enjoy
them anymore. His way of thinking about the insignificance of men (and his own insignificance
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per se, despite his social status) is striking. The idea of the most powerful man of his own time
viewing himself, as a drop in the ocean in the big picture, is something one can easily
sympathize with today. Of course, most of what Marcus Aurelius suggests is not very practical
from our modern perspective. However, parts of his writings can be very beneficial about society
if put to practice nowadays. Fear of death, for example, has determined the way humanity
behaved from the dawn of our existence as species. The argument can be made, however, that in
certain ways it has plagued human kind; that without it, we could have reached further out in the
universe and done if not better, then at least more.
Finally, it should be remarked that although Marcus Aurelius was extremely
accomplished in his life, his words should not necessarily be trusted. If a person is judged by his
legacy and relationship with his family, Marcus Aurelius partially fails on both accounts. The
emperor’s legacy in the face of his son Commodus is a terrifying one. Rather than just failing to
be a brilliant emperor, Commodus’ rule was marked by how cruelty, vanity, power and fear
formed into a terrifyingly dangerous mix of bloodlust, suspicion and megalomania.3 Here we see
another contradiction on Marcus Aurelius’ life: in order to be a great ruler of the Empire, he
miserably failed as a parent. Since he could not convince his own son the beauty and importance
of the stoic way of life, maybe we should think twice before applying it to our own lives and
situations. Sakrati go malko tva
In conclusion, Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor, leaving behind his angle on a
philosophy that has certain day-to-day use even today, thousands of years later. However,
through the pages of “Meditations”, seeps the feel of him not being at ease with his own
intellectuality. Stoicism may have been his solution to the problems at hand, but there is a certain
irony in his philosophy given that he wrote a great deal of the books during a campaign to stop
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“Commodus.” n.p. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2014. n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
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the German aggression. After all, he wrote about accepting the universe and its course of action
while rejecting and trying to reverse that course for his Empire. Thus, therein lays the true beauty
of Aurelius’ stoic philosophy: it should both be understood and lived by, but not taken too
literally.