When was marcus aurelius

The digital Loeb Classical Library extends the founding mission of James Loeb with an interconnected, fully searchable, perpetually growing virtual library of all that is important in Greek and Latin literature. Marcus Aurelius — CE , Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, born at Rome, received training under his guardian and uncle emperor Antoninus Pius reigned — , who adopted him. He was converted to Stoicism and henceforward studied and practised philosophy and law.

A gentle man, he lived in agreement and collaboration with Antoninus Pius. The philosophy of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius can be found in a collection of personal writings known as the Meditations. These reflect the influence of Stoicism and, in particular, the philosophy of Epictetus , the Stoic.

From a modern perspective Marcus Aurelius is certainly not in the first rank of ancient philosophers. To a certain extent this judgement is perfectly fair and reasonable. However, in order to assess the philosophical qualities that Marcus does have and that are displayed in the Meditations it is necessary to emphasize that in antiquity philosophy was not conceived merely as a matter of theoretical arguments.

Such arguments existed and were important, but they were framed within a broader conception of philosophy as a way of life. The aim was not merely to gain a rational understanding of the world but to allow that rational understanding to inform the way in which one lived.

Marcus Aurelius was born in C. His early education was overseen by the Emperor Hadrian, and he was later adopted by the Emperor Antoninus Pius in C. After an initial education in rhetoric undertaken by Fronto, Marcus later abandoned it in favor of philosophy.

Continual attacks meant that much of his reign was spent on campaign, especially in central Europe. However, he did find time to establish four Chairs of Philosophy in Athens, one for each of the principal philosophical traditions Platonic, Aristotelian, Stoic, andEpicurean.

He died in AD The Meditations take the form of a personal notebook and were probably written while Marcus was on campaign in central Europe, c. AD The entries appear to be in no particular order and may simply be in the original order of composition. The repetition of themes and the occasional groups of quotations from other authors see e.

Book One, however, is somewhat different from the rest of the text and may well have been written separately a plan for it may be discerned in Med. The first recorded mention of the Meditations is by Themistius in AD AD by Arethas. The modern text derives primarily from two sources: a manuscript now in the Vatican and a lost manuscript mentioned above , upon which the first printed edition was based. AD , discovered as a palimpsest in However, although this interesting discovery sheds some light on Marcus as an individual, it adds little to our understanding of his philosophy.

According to tradition, Marcus was a Stoic. His ancient biographer, Julius Capitolinus, describes him as such. Any one of us could die at any moment. According to one historian, his circle of friends were distraught. Marcus calmly asked why they were weeping for him when, in fact, they should accept both sickness and death as inevitable, part of nature and the common lot of mankind. He returns to this theme many times throughout The Meditations. Marcus Aurelius, through decades of training in Stoicism, in other words, had taught himself to face death with the steady calm of someone who has done so countless times already in the past.

To order a copy go to guardianbookshop. Delivery charges may apply. Stoicism in a time of pandemic: how Marcus Aurelius can help. A bust of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. When Antoninus died in , Marcus and Lucius assumed the roles of co-emperors. Lucius would die in , leaving Marcus the sole emperor from — The last years of Pius saw the empire attacked on all sides. The Parthian war lasted from — While the Romans won the war, they brought back a plague which would eventually kill 5 million people.

The Gauls were attacking the northern Roman border, both in Gaul and across the Danube. At the time of his death, he was one of the most powerful people on earth. He could have had anything he wanted, and few, if any, would dare challenge him on anything. And yet he proved himself deserving of the power he held. Under Marcus Aurelius, the empire was guided by virtue and wisdom.

Today we are left with his journal, his Meditations. The work is a landmark of Stoic philosophy that has guided both powerful and common men and women for thousands of years.