Marcus Aurelius

both as an individual and as the head of state. He was, moreover, a student of human nature. His search for truth extended to the lives of others, even leading him to experiment with writing biographies. As a young man, he sought the guidance of his rhetoric master on the methods to employ in composing a history. In addition to his own memoirs, he began work on his Acts of Ancient Greeks and Romans, though he eventually scrapped both projects. Studying the character of others became a contemplative exercise for him. As he writes in The Meditations, "'Accustom yourself to attend carefully "'to what is said by another, "'and as much as it is possible, "'be in the speaker's mind.'" We can perhaps see evidence of Marcus's own character evolving in his writings. The lively and good-humored letters of his youth focus on his studies in rhetoric and the trivia of daily life, aches and pains, family vacations, squabbles among his friends. It's hard to reconcile them with the author decades later of The Meditations, which strikes a more solemn and reflective note. Although to some extent, this is to be expected, as The Meditations is a different type of writing. Perhaps we can detect a similar transformation in various sculptures made of him during his lifetime. In his prime, some show him arching his eyebrows, as if considering a problem with studied logic. In others, his eyes are turned dreamily upward, as though contemplating the heavens. Statues portraying the emperor toward the end of his life present him gazing dead ahead, his features fallen into a look of solemn resignation. The former befit an aspiring philosopher, the latter, a seasoned military commander who has lived through war after war and witnessed a horrific plague. If we are going to enter the mind of the Stoic emperor, however, we need to consider the evidence of his thoughts and actions carefully. Marcus had a philosophy of life which differs significantly from the prevailing values of any modern society. Some of his recent biographers have dealt rather dismissively with the Stoic philosophy that played such an important role in his life. A more priggish, inhuman, killjoy and generally repulsive doctrine than Stoicism would be hard to imagine sneers one, but it will be abundantly clear why the program appealed to Marcus Aurelius. Such a view of Stoicism is a caricature based on popular misconceptions and it does the philosophy no justice. Stoicism flourished for five centuries in the ancient world and numerous proponents spoke to its benefits and appeal. Today, thousands of psychological research studies provide scientific evidence for the effectiveness of modern cognitive psychotherapy which was originally inspired by the Stoics. Many modern readers likewise find in Stoicism a profoundly life-changing philosophy, one which heals certain emotions rather than merely eliminating all of them. Trying to write a biography of Marcus Aurelius without due attention to the influence of Stoicism would indeed be as absurd as trying to write about St. Augustine while ignoring his Christian faith. Marcus was engaged in a process of both moral and therapeutic self-improvement. We cannot understand his character without understanding why Stoicism became so important to him and how it shaped his actions. In this book, I aim therefore to weave together evidence of his inner thoughts and values found in his private notes and letters with evidence of his outward actions taken from Roman historians and other ancient sources. Most readers are interested in Marcus because of the famous book attributed to him. The Meditations has become one of the most cherished self-improvement classics of all time. It has had a profound influence on countless individuals throughout history from all walks of life.