Marcus Aurelius
Born 4/26/121 · Died 3/17/180
From Rome, Lazio, Italy · Nationality: Ancient Rome · Writes nonfiction
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. During his reign, the empire defeated a revitalized Parthian Empire; Aurelius' general Avidius Cassius sacked the capital Ctesiphon in 164. Aurelius fought the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians with success during the Marcomannic Wars, but the threat of the Germanic Tribes began to represent a troubling reality for the empire. A revolt in the east led by Avidius Cassius failed to gain momentum and was suppressed immediately.
Marcus Aurelius' work Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty. It serves as an example of how Aurelius approached the Platonic ideal of a philosopher-king and how he symbolized much of what was best about Roman civilization.
Quotes
“People try to get away from it all—to the country, to the beach, to the mountains. You always wish that you could too. Which is idiotic: you can get away from it anytime you like. By going within. Nowhere you can go is more peaceful—more free of interruptions—than your own soul.”
Meditations c. AD 121–180 “All that is harmony for you, my Universe, is in harmony with me as well. Nothing that comes at the right time for you is too early or too late for me. Everything is fruit to me that your seasons bring, Nature. All things come of you, have their being in you, and return to you.”
Meditations c. AD 121–180 “Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man - yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned to thee, live rationally, and part with life cheerfully, as drops the ripe olive, extolling the season that bore it and the tree that matured it.”
Meditations c. AD 121–180 “To be like the rock that the waves keep crashing over. It stands unmoved and the raging of the sea falls still around it.”
Meditations c. AD 121–180 “The span we live is small—small as the corner of the earth in which we live it. Small as even the greatest renown, passed from mouth to mouth by short-lived stick figures, ignorant alike of themselves and those long dead.”
Meditations c. AD 121–180
Quotes from Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Books by Marcus Aurelius in order
Books by Marcus Aurelius in the order they were published, from Marcus Aurelius - Meditations (2016) to Meditations Journal (2022).
- 1Marcus Aurelius - Meditations
Marcus Aurelius - Meditations2016 - 2MediationsMediations2016
- 3Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius2016 - 4Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus2017 - 5Kendime Düsünceler
Kendime Düsünceler2018 - 6Kendime Düsünceler Cilti
Kendime Düsünceler Cilti2018 - 7Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Meditations of Marcus Aurelius2018 - 8Meditations of Emperor Marcus AureliusMeditations of Emperor Marcus Aurelius2020
- 9Meditations the Annotated EditionMeditations the Annotated Edition2021
- 10Meditations JournalMeditations Journal2022
- 11Helpful Thoughts from the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Ant
Helpful Thoughts from the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus - 12Meditations
Meditations - 13The Emperor Marcus Antoninus
The Emperor Marcus Antoninus - 14The Fourth Book of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoni
The Fourth Book of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus - 15The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius
The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius - 16The Thoughts of the Emperor M. Aurelius Antonius
The Thoughts of the Emperor M. Aurelius Antonius - 17Thoughts
Thoughts - 18Wege Zu Sich Selbst
Wege Zu Sich Selbst