Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26, 121 – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers.
His work Meditations, is still seen as one of the greatest works of Roman literature; John Stuart Mill in his Utility of Religion, compared Meditations to the Sermon on the Mount.
Certainly, Meditations contains some memorable lines:
“If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you might be bound to give it back immediately; if you hold to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with your present activity according to nature . . . you will be happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this”
"Execute every act of thy life as though it were thy last."
"A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions."
"Very little is needed to make a happy life. It is all within yourself, in your way of thinking."
Surprisingly though there is a dispute as to what the Meditations were. This week’s TLS discusses whether the Mediations were a personal diary, a commonplace book or something to be read by the public.
It seems obvious to me they were a blog (well, insofar as a blog was possible then) – written by Aurelius for himself but with a view to being seen by others. But that’s my view – any readers want to comment?
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What is TLS?
Times Literary Supplement
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