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Marcus aurelius meditations harvard classics
Marcus aurelius essays
Marcus aurelius meditations harvard classics
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The Meditations
Marcus Aurelius was a famous philosopher in 121 through 180 C.E. He lived a hard life and even though he was surrounded by crowds he was considered a recluse. He was known for his kindness and mercy. The last years of his life were spent on a military campaign. It is said that these years were the hardest and loneliest. However, instead of becoming bitter and angry Aurelius wrote The Meditations. This was a diary or journal of his personal thoughts. He believed that by writing this it was his duty to his soul. The Meditations, is a popular piece of stoic literature. In this paper I will be describing how Aurelius used stoicism in book two of The Meditations and what I liked and did not like about what he said.
Marcus Aurelius was a stoic. In the book Archetypes of Wisdom, Soccio defines stoicism as a philosophy that, “counsel’s self-control, detachment, and acceptance of one’s fate as identified by the objective use of reason. Stoics believed that everything is about your attitude and that happiness comes only through the detachment from all external things. In book two of The Meditations Aurelius writes that nothing can injure him because no one can implicate him in what is degrading. This would be considered a stoic thought because Marcus is not letting external factors influence his happiness. Another example would be that when he speaks of his brother. His stepbrother Verus was very incompetent, but Aurelius could not turn his back on him, because it would go against Nature. Nature is the same thing as Logos. Logos is a force that governs the universe. It is also known as World Reason, Cosmic Mind, God, Zeus, Nature, Providence, Cosmic Meaning, and Fate. He mentions several of these throughout the document.
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... and it does make sense. Stoics believed that by mastering their thoughts they could master their feelings. Aurelius gave the example of a man being hurt into an involuntary loss of control by injustice. Then on the other side a man’s desires move him to do wrong of his own volition. Both are emotions and as a stoic you control your feelings to achieve happiness, thus it contradicts itself.
Overall, The Meditations is in accordance to stoic thought. Marcus Aurelius wrote a lot about how to not let people, and of course externals affect your happiness. That we must, “take nothing in hand without purpose and nothing falsely or with dissimulation, depend not on another’s actions or inactions, accept each and every dispensation as coming from the same Source as itself.” If we live in accordance with stoic belief and what Aurelius wrote then we can achieve happiness.
This man had spent the better part of a year reading and rereading the Handbook of Epictetus, throughout that book the message is similar to one of the topics Sherman touches on, “Some things are up to us and some are not up to us,”(pg 2). Basically the circumstances maybe beyond our control, but ultimately what affects us is our judgements and the way we react. She makes a great point that we underutilize our ability to control ourselves when we let external things drive our happiness and that is the difference in so many people's lives, they wager their happiness and satisfaction on factors that should not ultimately
contrast the God of Epictetus, and the God of Augustine, and in the end, my stand will
Aurelius, Marcus. The meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. New York: A.L. Burt, 189.
In this passage, Marcus Aurelius tells himself not to think that something is impossible to accomplish simply because he finds it hard, but rather, he wants himself to acknowledge that the things that are humanly possible can be achieved by him.
“For it is in your power,” says Marcus Aurelius in the Meditation “to retire into yourself whenever you choose”. Struggling to live the virtuous life according to Stoic philosophy, the roman emperor wrote in his private Meditations about the Good, the Bad and the Indifferent. In order to avert angst over the Indifferent –those things that are by nature uncontrollable-, Aurelius practiced the stoic virtue of ¬autarkeia or mental independence of all things. In light of this, the following essay will explain Boethius notion of self-sufficiency in Consolation of Philosophy in relation to Hellenistic philosophy.
Self-control can be defined as the ability to control oneself, in particular one’s emotions or desires, especially in difficult situations. Comparatively, self-image is the idea one has of one’s abilities, appearance or personality. Often self-image and self-control are thought of as separate entities, but in the case of the tragic play “Oedipus Rex,” Sophocles demonstrates the connection between the two through the tragic events that occur. Integrated in the plot is the growth of the character of Oedipus, for it is he whom indices the investigation to stop the current plague in his kingdom of Thebes, his personal rashness and ignorance of the past come back to haunt him. Oedipus’ incautiousness when discovering the true state of Thebes is
...s' immediate and lasting success was due to his having found an answer to the spiritual needs of his time. In the vision of Rome, he presented an ideal strong enough to win the devotion of his contemporaries, and in his belief in sacrifice and suffering he prepared the way across the centuries to those like Marcus Aurelius who asked that men should live and die for an ideal city greater and more truly universal than Rome. Once Vergilius had opened up a new vision of human worth and recast the heroic ideal in a new mold, he set an example that later poets could not but follow. We might not accept his interpretation of human destiny in all its details, but we might feel that he had marked out the main lines for epic poetry and that any new heroic ideal must take account of what 'he' says and does.
Epictetus says, "Men are disturbed not by things which happen, but by the opinions about the things"(Epictetus, Ch. 5). He is saying that men cannot control things that happen but can control the judgement of that object. Another example of this is when he says, "Disease is an impediment to the body, but not to the will, unless the will chooses." One cannot control what happens, therefore, should not be influenced by external forces. Epictetus maintains the common stoic thought that a happy life is derived from excellence. Marcus was exposed to many schools of thought, growing up in a wealthy family, but had a strong inclination towards Stoicism, especially Epictetus. Marcus writes that man must welcome all that happens, implying that it is out of one's control. He says, "A disposition to welcome all that happens…" Both Marcus and Epictetus have the same idea that one cannot control external forces. They also both write that no-one should be afraid of death. Marcus says that it is not death that one should fear but rather never beginning life. Epictetus says that it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death. It is quite prevalent that Marcus was influenced by Epictetus while writing about this specific topic. Reverting back to one's power, Epictetus states, "Within our power are opinion, aim, aversion, and, in one word, whatever affairs are our own"(Epictetus Ch. 1). Epictetus is reiterating the idea that you cannot control what happens around you. There is a similar parallel in the Mediations when Marcus Aurelius says that you have power of your mind - not outside
P. Vander Waerdt, Philosophical Influence on Roman Jurisprudence? The Case of Stoicism and Natural Law ANRW 4.36 (1990)
Secondly, Aurelius states that one should act virtuously, spending one’s time wisely, so that when one lives this world, he or she knows that his or her actions were good. Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy • Book I 8. Why exactly does Boethius feel disappointed? Would Seneca or Aurelius disagree with his reasons?
Stoicism was a group of philosophers in the First Century who made laws that they thought should be followed by the citizens of Rome. Two of these laws were the concepts of rationality and nature. Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor of Rome at the time and he also the most known Stoic. His concepts were vital to the survival of the Stoics.
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus is one such philosopher. In The Enchiridion he outlined how to live a good life as a stoic. Anything that is not one's own action is out of their control and should be ignored. He lists "Body, property, reputation, and command" as examples.1 He claims they are weak, and do not belong to us. Trying to control them will lead to unhappiness. On the other hand, he believes if you recognize that external things belonging to others, and internal things as yours you will be much better off.2 To Epictetus, proper way to live is to let things come to you, while being reserved. To illustrate this, he uses the example of a dinner party, where you should not reach across the table and take things. Instead you wait till they come to you.3
As a worldview, Stoicism is a philosophical approach to help people to cope with times of great stress and troubles. In order to give comfort to humanity, the Stoics agree with the Pantheistic view that God and nature are not separate. Instead, the two forces are one. By believing that God is nature, humans have a sense of security because nature, like God, is recognized as rational and perfect. The perfection of nature is explained through the Divine, or natural, Law. This law gives everything in nature a predetermined plan that defines the future based on past evens (cause and effect). Because the goal for everything in nature is to fulfill its plan, the reason for all that happens in nature is because it is a part of the plan. It is apparent that, because this law is of God, it must be good. The Divine Law is also universal. Everything on the planet has a plan that has already been determined. There are no exceptions or limitations to the natural law. The world in the Stoics’ eyes is flawless, equal, and rational.
Marcus Aurelius’ literary work, Mediations, has been seen throughout history as one of the most important literary works. It is similar to a journal, written by Aurelius during his life, about his life. Aurelius was a man who was unlike other emperors. While most other emperors disgraced themselves, he was an exception. There was no particular reason why he acted this way, and no external forces caused him to act this way. He was a man who could get whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and yet he didn’t use his power for his own benefit. He was afraid of doing what was wrong, and intended to live a life where he wouldn’t feel guilty about anything. He never wanted the things he wrote to be published; however they have given advice to many people over the years. Aurelius lived a lonely life, because there was no one as his equal, and anyone who talked to him was looking for something. Throughout the passages in Meditations, Aurelius makes a lot of really good observations.
Stoicism made the transition from an intriguing foreign philosophy to a popular practice because it was taken up by several high profile figures. Scipio Africanus, the original esteemed Roman Stoic died in 129 BCE, but about 40 years later a new crop of celebrated Romans took up the Stoic practice. During the fall of the Roman Republic a group of famed orators, generals, and statesmen including Marcus Junius Brutus (85-42 BCE), Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE), Pompey the Great (106-48 BCE), and Cato the Younger (95-46 BCE) all professed themselves Stoics. This group of powerful statesmen and leaders practicing Stoicism disseminated it throughout Rome. Octavian (63 BC- 14 AD) who later became Caesar Augustus had a Stoic tutor and many years later the young emperor Nero also had a Stoic tutor. As Stoicism grew more esteemed and more popular it became the natural choice to hire a Stoic tutor for sons who were destined for politics. Stoicism was especially attractive to political leaders. The Historian Gilbert Murray states “Nearly all the successors of Alexander -- we may say all the principal kings in existence in the generations following Zeno -- professed themselves Stoics.” While not every ruler professed himself a Stoic, for example Julius Caesar was an Epicurean, many were not just students of Stoicism but Stoic disciples like the Greek King Antigonus and the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.