The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
A Primer
David Tuffley
Published by Altiora Publications at Smashwords
© Copyright 2012 David Tuffley
Until ‘kings were philosophers or philosophers were kings’ there will be injustice in the world - Plato
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About the Author
David Tuffley PhD is a Lecturer at Griffith University in Australia where he lectures in Philosophy. He has a particular interest in the comparative Ethics of the Eastern and Western traditions.
Contents
The essence of stoic philosophy
Prologue
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is a perennial, belonging to a very special category of book that has but a few members out of the millions of books ever published; longevity. It has a simple, powerful message that is as fresh and useful today as it was nearly two thousand years ago.
That alone makes it worthy of careful study, but it has more to commend it than that. The greater the Truth, the more simply it can be put. The original book states a few great Truths, and states them very simply.
Meditations is basically the author’s personal journal, written in private over a ten year period. It is doubtful whether he intended it to ever be read by others. It was a way for him to remind himself what he recognised as being most important to remember about Life.
As a result, there is much repetition of ideas. A few big ideas are constantly discussed, these being uppermost in the author’s mind as the months and years rolled by.
Therefore this Primer provides a summary of the recurrent ideas of Meditations, and does so in 21st Century language, easily accessible to modern readers. It presents the first five books as being representative of the entire twelve books. This is sufficient to grasp the essence of the original.
The rarest of all
Marcus Aurelius (full name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus, 121 – 180 AD) is an exceedingly rare individual; a genuine philosopher-king. His leadership is based on the often misunderstood Stoic philosophy. The power and relevance of this philosophy is as potent today as it was when he was Roman Emperor (161 to 180AD).
Meditations is essentially the private journal that he wrote for his own guidance later in life (between 170 and 180) when away from Rome on military campaigns. Written in a plain, unvarnished manner, it offers the reader a candid portrait of his innermost thoughts and feelings. Remember that he is talking to himself when he refers to ‘you’. This will make it less likely that you will take offence at his didactic tone.
In Meditations you come to know the real man, and to the reader this can seem an extraordinary privilege. But the man was also an emperor, and no ordinary emperor, one of the finest in Rome’s illustrious history. A truly remarkable man by any standard, but as you will see, a modest, even humble man. Even today, Meditations stands tall as a guide to staying calm under pressure when there is a difficult job to do.
Marcus Aurelius might have been a Roman, but his thinking had been shaped, like so many educated Romans, by the classical period of ancient Greece. Indeed, Meditations was written in Greek. Even today, classical Greek thinking still permeates the foundations of Western civilisation.
The Greek philosopher Plato (427 to 347 BC) famously wrote that until ‘kings were philosophers or philosophers were kings’ there will be injustice in the world. Marcus Aurelius worked diligently to apply Plato’s ideas and those of the Stoic philosophers who followed Plato.
A note on this translation
Earlier English translations of this text are accurate but difficult to understand for many readers living in the 21st Century. The mode of expression and the figures of speech are the product of that far-off time. This book faithfully re-expresses in modern day language the underlying message of the original text. Every effort has been made to preserve the underlying spirit of the message.
There will be those who object to the changing of the outward form of this much-loved classic. While I respect the beauty of the original text, my greatest wish is to bring the even greater beauty of the underlying message to a whole new audience in the modern world who might otherwise find the original less than easy to fully understand.
Throughout, the first person ‘I’ and ‘my’ is Marcus Aurelius, not David Tuffley.
There is a one-to-one correspondence between the paragraphs of the original translation of the Meditations. If you wish to locate an original paragraph in another text, you can do so by counting back the paragraphs in this text.
The essence of Stoic philosophy
Stoicism has come to have a narrow and somewhat negative meaning of being unemotional or indifferent to suffering, however this is a distortion. In a world of easy fixes, and mass consumption where pleasure is seen as the greatest good, Stoicism seems oddly archaic and irrelevant. Notwithstanding this, its real message has great relevance in the 21st Century.
Influenced by the earlier work of Socrates and Diogenes of Sinope, the Stoic school of philosophy was founded around 300 BC by Zeno of Citium. Speaking from beneath a painted portico (Stoa Poikilē) in Athens, signifying openness to anyone passing by, Zeno taught that a wise person should not allow their emotions to rule them; instead they should master their emotions and use logic to think rationally about how to behave in life. He urged his followers to study carefully the laws of Nature and to live in harmony with them. In this respect his ideas coincide with those of far distant Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher who wrote the Tao Te Ching.
A central point in Stoic philosophy is the active relationship between the laws of Nature that rule the Cosmos, and human free will. A wise person derives maximum benefit and happiness in life by bringing his or her will into harmony with Nature. They come to know themselves, recognising that their inner nature (microcosm) is a representation of the outer macrocosm, or universe; the same nature in both, differing only in scale.
Stoics conceived of the universe as being governed by Logos, what we today would think of as the Laws of Physics. Pure, abstract, they pervade the universe and make it behave in the way it does. The same informing principle resides in humans. Virtue is gained by recognising this and working to harmonise ones inner self with the qualitatively similar outer world.
Stoics recognise that the human psyche is a multi-layered entity; from the primitive, savage nature inherited from our animal ancestors, up to the higher rational thought of humans at their best. The challenge facing any human wishing to improve the conditions of their life is to develop a conscious awareness of our higher self, and to learn the discipline to live from that, rather than the primitive and often barbaric lower self. So for example, a Stoic will work to overcome anger, envy, and jealousy, recognising that to yield to these primitive impulses will harm them.
The Greek founders of Stoicism conceived of three interrelated elements that collectively make Philosophy. These are logic, physics, and ethics. Logic allows us to recognise truth when we see it, and to avoid making mistakes. Logic allows us to understand Physics, the way that the world operates. Together, Logic and Physics allows us to practice Ethics, or moral behavior that brings benefit.
The Stoic cosmos is a dynamic unity that unfolds according to Logos, which is a kind of informing principle or universal mind that permeates the cosmos and provides the underlying pattern for everything that exists and happens in the phenomenal world.
Ethical behavior is that which in harmony with the unfolding cosmos. This unfolding is the cause of both pleasure and suffering in people. If we are to stay in accord with it, we must discipline our minds to become indifferent to suffering, accepting with grace that it is necessary and inevitable. This state of mind is called apatheia. Likewise, we must not become so attached to pleasure that we cannot relinquish it when it passes. The goal is to become self-sufficient, or autarcheia.
The Stoic therefore becomes equally indifferent to good fortune or bad, whether they are rich or poor, well-respected or despised. They understand that the approval or disapproval of others can exert undue pressure to conform to values that may not be true. The Stoic does his or her duty in accordance with Nature as revealed by careful observation and logical enquiry. They do their duty regardless of whether it is easy or hard.
With its emphasis on duty and right action, Stoicism is therefore well-suited to the needs of those who would lead. It was used as a guide by the ruling class of Rome for centuries.
Book 1
From my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and how to control my temper.
From my father’s good reputation, I learned to be modest in my words and actions, to seek the middle path and avoid extremes. This made him a man to be reckoned with in the world.
From my mother Lucilla, I learned to be unselfish, to act in the best interests of everyone. I learned to refrain from thoughts or actions that would harm others. She taught me to value a simple way of living, far removed from the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
From my great-grandfather Severus, I learned the value of learning from the best teachers available even if this costs dearly, because we become like those with whom we associate. If I associate with low-minded, ignorant people, he taught me that this is what I will become.
From my governor, I learned to keep an open mind and avoid tribal thinking. He cautioned me to avoid the tendency to rush to judgment in current affairs based on slim and distorted reports in the news. He also taught me to work hard and long on the tasks that were worth doing, and to stay with it until finished. He taught me to want for little, to work with my own hands, and not to interfere in other people’s lives or engage in malicious gossip.
From Diognetus, I learned to pay attention to what is important, and disregard what is unimportant. He taught me to ignore those who make outlandish, unsubstantiated claims of any kind. They are seeking to take advantage of the gullible. Notwithstanding that, I learned that freedom of speech is important, even if I do not agree. Most of all, I learned to love Philosophy, to study the masters and think long about what they say and then to write down what I think. To live the ascetic life of simplicity wherein such thoughts are possible.
From Rusticus, I learned that in my character there is always room for improvement and greater self-discipline. He taught me that sophistry is to be avoided because it is too often used to distort and deceive people with persuasive but ultimately fallacious arguments. I learned to refrain from writing or speaking about that which I do not fully understand, or to present myself to the world as a pious man who makes a show of philanthropy. When I write, I keep it clear and simple, avoiding flourishes of rhetoric. When people say unkind things about me, I do not seek revenge, I let it go. If they approach me to reconcile, I receive them. Rusticus also taught me to think long and carefully before coming to a judgment on a matter, and not to agree too quickly with lobbyists who seek to influence opinions. I also learned from Epictetus through Rusticus that self-knowledge is the basis of all wisdom.
From Apollonius, I learned the value of having free will and the determination to follow through to completion when it is tempting to give up. He taught me to carry on and have constancy of bearing, even in the face of extreme hardship, and to show the world that the same man can be both determined and yielding. I learned to be good-natured and modest when talking to others, not taking on the attitude of a high status man of learning who is too important to talk to unimportant people. He taught me to gracious in both giving and receiving from friends.
From Sextus, I learned to be benevolently disposed towards people, to live in harmony with Nature, to be learned and dignified yet modest, and to be tolerant of people who rush to judgment on too little evidence and thought. Talking to him was always more agreeable than any flattery. He was respected by all who knew him. His piercing insight allowed him to see and understand the world in an intelligent and methodical way. I never saw him get angry or indulge in any other vice (like envy, lust, greed or laziness). He was kind and friendly to everyone, but knew how to express disagreement in a way that got the point across without causing offence or retaliation.
From Alexander the grammarian, I learned to refrain from pedantic fault-finding when a person expresses themselves incorrectly. Instead I find a subtle or indirect way to use the correct expression soon after that does not shame the person.