Marcus Aurelius

121-180 CE · Roman · Stoicism, Ethics, Philosophy as Way of Life, Ancient Political Philosophy

The universe is transformation: life is opinion.

For the last decade of his life, the most powerful man in the world kept a private notebook he never meant anyone to read. Marcus Aurelius wrote it in camp on the frozen Danube frontier, between Germanic invasions and an empire-ravaging plague, in the form of orders to himself: "Concentrate every minute on doing the task at hand." We call it the Meditations; he called it, simply, writings to himself. He had been groomed for the throne since seventeen, ruled Rome for nineteen brutal years, and buried most of his thirteen children — and the book is not a treatise but a survival manual, the same…

Topics Marcus Aurelius addresses

• the view from above
• memento mori
• the inner citadel
• the dichotomy of control
• the discipline of assent
• the discipline of desire
• the discipline of action
• the obstacle is the way
• amor fati
• apatheia
• virtue as the only good
• the cosmopolis
• the universal logos
• sympatheia
• oikeiosis
• prokope
• spiritual exercises
• writing as spiritual practice
• hypomnemata
• the second-person imperative
• repetition as practice
• dogmata
• imaginative exercises
• the philosopher-king

Questions to put to Marcus Aurelius

The Inner Citadel and the Three Disciplines

• What do you mean by the inner citadel?
• How do the three disciplines work together in daily practice?
• What's the difference between what's up to me and what isn't?
• How do I train myself to accept what fate brings?
• Why do you keep repeating the same reminders to yourself?

The View from Above and Cosmic Perspective

• What do you see when you take the view from above?
• How does thinking about death help me live better?
• What do you mean when you say all things are the same?
• Why should I find comfort in the thought that I'm just a small part of the cosmos?
• How are all rational beings connected through the logos?

Virtue, Apatheia, and the Good Life

• Why is virtue the only real good?
• What's the difference between natural affection and the passions you reject?
• How can you say you loved Faustina while also practicing apatheia?
• How do I find joy in a life of duty and discipline?
• What does moral progress actually look like day to day?

The Philosopher-Emperor and Service to Mankind

• How do you bear the burden of ruling an empire philosophically?
• Why should I serve people who frustrate or oppose me?
• What's at stake for you in the idea of the cosmopolis?
• How do you reconcile universal human kinship with slavery in the empire?
• How should I think about obstacles in my work?

Writing to Yourself and Spiritual Exercise

• Why did you write the Meditations for yourself rather than for others?
• How does writing function as a spiritual exercise?
• What did you learn from Epictetus that shaped your practice?
• How do I use your exercises in my own life today?
• What's the purpose of addressing yourself in the second person?

Christians, Death, and the Rational Exit

• What's your criticism of the Christians in Meditations XI.3?
• When is suicide a rational choice for a Stoic?
• What makes a death dignified rather than theatrical?
• How should I understand your role in the persecution of Christians during your reign?

Converse with Marcus Aurelius on Simposeum. Replies are grounded in Marcus Aurelius's own writing, cited to the page.