Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one
substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference
to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how
all things act with one movement; and how all things are the
cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the
continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web.A"
Marcus Aurelius - 'Meditations' Marcus Aurelius is considered to
one of the great Emperors of Rome who was not only a skilled
military leader but also a great philosopher in the Stoic
tradition. He was born in 121 AD and both of his parents came from
wealthy backgrounds. His father died when Marcus was 3 years old
and by the time he was 6 he had gained the attention of the Emperor
Hadrian who oversaw his education. Hadrian ensured that Marcus was
taught by some of the greatest scholars in Rome who educated him in
literature, drama, geometry, Greek oratory, Greek and Latin. Marcus
later abandoned most of those subjects in favor of philosophy, with
the work of the Greek philosopher Epictetus being a major influence
on his thinking. In 138, while still a young man, the Emperor
Antoninus Pius adopted Marcus, and in 161 he himself became
Emperor. Marcus insisted he would only take up the Emperorship if
Lucius Verus were also installed. Marcus's insistence on Lucius
joining him as Emperor was a military one. At that time Rome was
fighting wars on multiple fronts and Marcus wanted someone he could
trust to marshal the troops who he knew would not at some point
lead a revolt against him. Lucius and Marcus were loyal to each
other up until Lucius's death in 169 AD. After Lucius's death,
Marcus was the sole Emperor and due to the incessant wars in the
provinces he was unable to spend much time indulging his
philosophical pursuits. He did manage to found four Chairs of
Philosophy in Athens, one for each of the main philosophical
schools of thought, Aristotelian, Epicurean, Platonic and Stoic.
Although Marcus spent almost all of his reign on campaigns in
foreign territories, he managed to write down his thoughts and
these became what are now considered a masterpiece of Roman
philosophy, the discourses 'Meditations'. Marcus wrote
'Meditations' around 170 - 180, whilst on a campaign in central
Europe, most probably in what is now Serbia, Hungary and Austria.
The 12 books that make up 'Meditations' were not written as an
exercise in explaining his philosophy but rather as a personal
notebook for self-improvement and study. 'Meditations' illustrates
just how important Epictetus was to Marcus as he quotes the Greek
philosopher's famed 'Discourses' on more than one occasion.
Epictetus was a legendary figure in Greek philosophy and many claim
he is the greatest of the Stoics; texts that remain in existence
from the period suggest that in his native Greece, he was even more
popular than Plato. As was previously mentioned, 'Meditations' was
not written for public consumption but rather as an aid to personal
development. Marcus wanted to change his way of living and thinking
and to do this he embarked on a set of philosophical exercises. He
would reflect on philosophical ideas and by writing them down and
by repeating them he hoped to re-programme his mind and find his
own philosophy to live by. One of the key exercises in the book
discusses Marcus attempting to look at the world from 'the point of
view of the cosmos' in a bid to try and look at life and the
universe outside of the common and limited parameters of individual
concerns. You have the power to strip away many superfluous
troubles located wholly in your judgment, and to possess a large
room for yourself embracing in thought the whole cosmos, to
consider everlasting time, to think of the rapid change in the
parts of each thing, of how short it is from birth until
dissolution, and how the void before birth and that after
dissolution are equally infinite.A" Marcus Aurelius died on March
17, 180, in the city of Vindobona which was situated where Vienna
is today. History remembers him as the last of the 'Five Good
Emperors' of the Nervan-Antonian dynasty. Marcus' son Commodus
replaced his father as Emperor and although he reigned over a
relatively stable period in Roman history, in terms of war and
peace, his personal behavior and antics were not in the spirit of
those Emperors that came immediately before him. Commodus was
eventually murdered in a plot that involved his mistress Marcia,
thus bringing to an end the highly regarded Nervan-Antonian
dynasty.
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