Marcus Aurelius: Meditations

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, author of the Meditations, was emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 CE, reigning over the end of that period of Roman rule known as the Pax Romana. Adopted by the emperor Antoninus Pius, he was well educated in Greek philosophy and found great joy in the works of the Stoics as well as other philosophers. His Meditations are reflections in the Stoic manner on his day-to-day life as well his outlook on life in general. His reflections, which he titled “To Himself,” were written during the end of his rule, when the empire was beset with plague and wars against encroaching Germanic tribes, wars that he directed personally. The Meditations show Aurelius’s engagement of the Stoic ideal that happiness is living a life of virtue, defined by the use of reason and justice—a belief that all men (that is, humankind) are brothers and one in God and that tranquility of the soul allows one to act accordingly.