Philosophies of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius

Even today, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is read by every class from kings to common people. The book is a universal classic, meaning it can be related to at any time, by anyone. The philosophies included in his book have spanned the centuries, and Meditations remains to be one of the most influential books ever written.

Marcus Aurelius was born on April 20, 121 AD into a family of royalty. His uncle and adoptive father, Antoninus Pius, was the emperor of Rome. Aurelius, too, was trained from birth to be a great ruler like his father. At age eleven, he dedicated himself to religion, although he considered philosophy to be the "true, inward" religion, one which did not require ceremonies necessary in others. Throughout his childhood and early adulthood, Aurelius was taught by several talented teachers. When he was young, the great Epictetus tutored him, followed by a man named Q. Junius Rusticus, who would accompany Aurelius throughout much of his life.

In 161 AD, Pius died, leaving Aurelius and Pius’s other adopted son, known as Verus, to rule together. The two brothers were quite different, although no disagreements are mentioned between the two. Verus was a headstrong man, who was more apt to want a war than the contemplative Aurelius. Verus was an "Epicurean" and definitely would never be called a philosopher. However, Verus died suddenly in 169, leaving Aurelius to rule Rome on his own. It is important to mention that during basically all of Aurelius’ rule, Rome was engaged in a long series of defensive wars. In fact, the book Meditations was written during these wars, possibly during the darkest of conditions. And even though these wars were successful, they were taxing both on Rome as a state, and on Aurelius himself. However, he somehow managed to stay somewhat unaffected throughout, an amazing feat unto itself.

Although Aurelius was considered a great man and emperor, he ruthlessly persecuted the Christians. He considered them a threat to his "imperial system." However, he did not know very much of the Christian doctrines that he was so against. In direct contradiction to this ruthlessness to the Christians was the way he treated his own people. He is considered to be the "Last of the Great Emperors." He ruled Rome during a time of declining prosperity. However, he did try to improve his home while he ruled it. He ...

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...the greatest empire. He did his best to keep the government an honest as possible, and tried to use it for the advantage of the people, which was it’s original purpose. Aurelius obviously was concerned with many different areas of both his empire and his religion.

Marcus Aurelius, through his book Meditations, has attained something he scorned in principle - posthumous fame. Throughout his life, he was known as a generous emperor, and not considered to be a student in philosophy. After his death, however, his diary was discovered, and the true inner thoughts of Marcus Aurelius were published for the entire world to read. Although the vast majority of the philosophies included in Aurelius’ book still hold true and make sense, we know that at least one was wrong. Aurelius believed that even posthumous fame was short-lived, for a person’s named is never carried from generation to generation. However, this melancholy collection of philosophies written by a lonely man centuries ago is still considered to be one of the most influential books ever written. Although he never received the opportunity to be a philosopher during his life, Marcus Aurelius certainly deserved the title.