A quotation from Marcus Aurelius
Quotation
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.
Marcus Aurelius
Emperor of Rome. Philosopher on the battlefield. His private journal became the most famous Stoic text in history.
Marcus Aurelius never intended to publish his thoughts. The Meditations is a private journal, written in Greek during military campaigns on the Danube frontier, a conversation with himself about how to be a decent person while holding absolute power. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors. Plagues, wars, betrayals. He faced them all and kept writing. The book's power comes from its honesty: it is not a system but a man struggling, night after night, to live up to what he believes. He died at the frontier, possibly of plague, in 180 CE.
Marcus Aurelius vs. Seneca
Emperor on Campaign vs. Senator of Rome: The supreme ruler burdened by empire vs. the master of literary counsel.
Marcus Aurelius and Seneca represent the ultimate heights of practical Roman Stoicism, but from two vastly different vantage points of power. Seneca was the lit…
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What does Marcus Aurelius mean by this quotation?
Emperor of Rome. Philosopher on the battlefield. His private journal became the most famous Stoic text in history. Marcus Aurelius never intended to publish his thoughts. The Meditations is a private journal, written in Greek during military campaigns on the Danube frontier, a conversation with himself about how to be a decent person…