Meditations

shh, shh, I didn't forget to post this, you're making that up. the paragraphs might be a bit messed up because I originally wrote this in a google doc, so it's just copy-pasted.

The Influences of Marcus Aurelius’ Life on his Meditations

Marcus Aurelius, an emperor of Rome during the second century, is best known for his personal journal, called Meditations by scholars. The main themes of his work can be traced to the events of his life, particularly those of the insignificance of fame and viewing illness, setback, and death as natural. This paper aims to identify some of these events and explain their influences on the themes of Meditations.
Marcus was introduced to the Stoic and Cynic philosophies by his early teachers, Diognetus and Rusticus. (Aurelius 1.6, trans Hays) These two schools of thought are present in Marcus’ work. Stoicism is marked by its belief in a rational, natural law (logos) that individuals can use to accept the events in their life and live out their true role. (Sacks) Marcus tells himself: “Nothing is so productive of greatness of mind as the ability to examine systematically and truthfully each thing we encounter in life, and to see these things in such a way as to comprehend the nature of the Cosmos, and what sort of benefit such things possess for both the Whole and for humans…” (Aurelius 3.11, trans Needleman and Piazza) This perspective is echoed several times in further passages. The other school of thought, Cynicism, is known for a belief in simple living, such as ignoring luxuries and living in harmony with nature. While not as omnipresent in Marcus’ work as Stoicism, it still has a large presence in Meditations. Early on in Meditations, Marcus thanks his teacher, Diognetus, for instructing Marcus to “...desire only a simple cot and animal skin for my bed…” (Aurelius 1.6, trans Needleman and Piazza) Marcus also expresses a love for nature, such as in 5.3: “Judge every single word or deed that is in accordance with Nature as worthy of you…” A good example of a Stoic practice that Marcus followed in Meditations: repetition of virtues and ideas in writing to solidify the virtue or idea in one’s brain. After all, Meditations is not a book but a collection of notes written by one man to himself. Marcus’ early instruction bred a lifelong love in philosophy, and this instruction is present all throughout his Meditations.
Marcus expressed a firm belief in the insignificance of fame. “Or is it your reputation that’s bothering you? But look at how soon we’re all forgotten..The emptiness of all those applauding hands. The people that praise us--how capricious they are, how arbitrary.” (Aurelius 4.3, trans Hays) Marcus’ rejection of fame is both an influence of his Stoic beliefs and an effect of his fame. He rose quickly to power after being adopted by Hadrian’s successor, Antoninus Pius. Once Marcus became emperor along with his adopted brother, Lucius Verus, (Hays 11) he must have felt uncomfortable with his new power. An anecdote suggests he was so worried about his new power that he had a servant whisper to him “remember, you are only mortal” during military parades. While most likely untrue, the anecdote serves as an example of how notable Marcus’ humble demeanor was.
Another theme that recurs in Marcus’ work is mortality and the finite nature of time. Like all Romans, he lost many people in his life due to everyday illnesses and accidents. He lost his adoptive father, his adoptive brother, his wife, and most of his children. Marcus frequently grappled with himself over his mortality, reminding himself that death is natural and he should accept it. He writes, “A trite but effective tactic against the fear of death: think of the list of people who had to be pried away from life. What did they gain by dying old? In the end, they all sleep six feet under…They buried their contemporaries, and were buried in turn. Our lifetime is so brief…Consider the abyss of time past, the infinite future. Three days of life or three generations: what’s the difference?” (Aurelius 4.50, trans Hays)
Evidence of Marcus’ daily life lies in his work as well. While he never referred directly to events in his life, aspects can be gleaned from biographies ranging from probably accurate (Dio Cassius’ Roman History) to anecdotal (the Historia Augusta.) The following paragraphs are less factual and more the author’s interpretation of the Meditations and the work of various scholars, mostly Rutherford and Hays.
Marcus was often ill. In his usual style, he does not mention this, but Dio Cassius noted that “he was extremely frail of body.” (72.36.3, qtd. by Rutherford) Marcus fought against his need for sleep, such as in book 5.1 where he writes, “At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work--as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’” (trans Hays) He also thanks the gods “that my body has held out, especially considering the life I’ve led.” (Aurelius 1.17, trans Hays) Along with his unknown illness, this may refer to his survival of the plague of 166-167. (Rutherford xvi)
Being emperor, Marcus had to deal with members of the Senate and other politicians. It can be assumed that he was annoyed by them, but he used his Stoic ideas to calm himself, connecting with his general idea that humans were made to support each other. “...Tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly…But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own--not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me…We were born to work together…To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are obstructions.” (Aurelius 2.1, trans Hays)
As Marcus was emperor, many conflicts occurred across the empire. Among them included the invasion of a Gallic tribe, the Marcomanni, and Parthic invasions of Syria. (Boucquey) While his co-emperor, Lucius Verus, dealt most with the conflicts, Marcus still campaigned, although to a smaller degree. He even died on campaign near what is now Vienna. (Rutherford xvi) Gregory Hays points out violent comparisons in Meditations as an example of how Marcus’ war experiences influenced him. “The gruesome vignette that opens Meditations 8.34 (“a severed hand or foot, or a decapitated head”) may well reflect Marcus’ own experience,” Hays writes on page xvi of his translation. Marcus also uses the analogy of “spiders are proud of catching flies, men of catching…Sarmatians” in section 10 of book 10. He, like most, disapproves of needless violence and arguing, again connecting to his ideas of humanity’s purpose.
Marcus’ writing, like that of all people, was profoundly affected by his life. He learned philosophy from his teachers, and formed his principles from combinations of his learning and watershed moments of his life. The deaths of his loved ones led him to consider his mortality very frequently. His illnesses, though the specifics are lost to time, seeded thoughts of perseverance. His rise to power led him to disdain fame in favor of his Stoic philosophies. He reminded himself many times over of his principles through writing in order to implement them into his behavior, and those writings make up his Meditations. Even if he didn’t acknowledge it, he was a Stoic, and used those ideas to make himself a better person in the context of his life.











Works Cited

Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations. Translated by Gregory Hays, Modern Library, 2002.

Boucquey, Thierry. “Marcus Aurelius.” Encyclopedia of World Writers, Beginnings through the 13th Century, Facts On File, 2005. Ancient and Medieval History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=152065&itemid=WE49&articleId=40583. Accessed 18 Apr. 2023.

Cook, James Wyatt. “Cynicism.” Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2014. Ancient and Medieval History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=152065&itemid=WE49&articleId=30220. Accessed 26 Apr. 2023.

Cook, James Wyatt. “Meditations.” Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2014. Ancient and Medieval History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=152065&itemid=WE49&articleId=30339. Accessed 18 Apr. 2023.

Kohn, George Childs. “Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.” Dictionary of Historic Documents, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2003. Ancient and Medieval History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=152065&itemid=WE49&articleId=222575. Accessed 18 Apr. 2023.

Needleman, Jacob, and John Piazza. The Essential Marcus Aurelius. Penguin, 2008.

Rutherford, R. B. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius: A Study. Oxford UP, USA, 1989.

Sacks, David. “Stoicism.” Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, Third Edition, Facts On File, 2015. Ancient and Medieval History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=152065&itemid=WE49&articleId=224374. Accessed 26 Apr. 2023.

Sheldon, Garrett Ward. “Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.” Encyclopedia of Political Thought, Facts On File, 2001. Ancient and Medieval History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=152065&itemid=WE49&articleId=238930. Accessed 18 Apr. 2023.

I first read Meditations in 2015. I really liked it and was awed at how the ideas written by Marcus Aurelius two millennia ago, felt so true and on point in our times.

On this second reading though, almost five years later, and after so many things have changed in my life since then; I've come to truly appreciate the wisdom of Aurelius. He's showed me how we are not so different, a Roman Emperor and the most powerful man on earth at the time and me, just an ordinary man two thousand years later. There were so many passages I highlighted and notes I made on the margins and in between blank spaces in my hardcover edition. Really contemplating the ideas he wrote to himself and sometimes being struck at how much his words resonated. Without any doubt in my mind, an outstanding and inspiring man. I will definitely be returning many times to my copy of this book (Hays translation), to center myself as I continue to find my way in this chaotic life and strive to be a better man, just like Marcus Aurelius did.