As mentioned above (1.1), Marcus' Meditations touch on many more topics than the ones addressed here, but we get further in understanding Marcus if we focus on a topic and see how his remarks on that topic are related to his overall project of reminding himself how a Stoic should live. This was because many of her clients were included in codicils to her will. Seneca VI, Letters 93–124 tr. Marcus Garvey was a proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, inspiring the Nation of Islam and the Rastafarian movement. Marcus was appalled to learn that Hadrian would become his adoptive grandfather. Still, Marcus is not really open to the possibility of Epicurean physics. A revolt in the East led by Avidius Cassius failed to gain momentum and was suppressed immediately. This suggests that despite the quotability of individual assertions in the Meditations, we should approach them by studying their ‘therapeutic’ context, that is, by asking: what psychological effect(s) is Marcus trying to achieve by saying this?

Marcus' own Meditations offer a window on his inner life, but are largely undateable, and make few specific references to worldly affairs. These are all accepted uses of the term. On the return from the campaign, Lucius was awarded with a triumph; the parade was unusual because it included the two emperors, their sons and unmarried daughters as a big family celebration.

(vi.13, cf. Lucilla's thirteenth birthday was in March 163; whatever the date of her marriage, she was not yet fifteen. Dio is vital for the military history of the period, but his senatorial prejudices and strong opposition to imperial expansion obscure his perspective. Welcome! But whether or not Marcus ought to have known this to be so, the rejections of his son's claims in favour of someone else would almost certainly have involved one of the civil wars which were to proliferate so disastrously around future successions. On the other hand, Brennan (1996, 326–29) argues that there is only one appropriate action for any situation, so that selection of what is preferred, or usually according to nature, is only prima facie appropriate. Marcus took great care in the theory and practice of legislation. Antonio Vivaldi was a 17th and 18th century composer who’s become one of the most renowned figures in European classical music. Three full legions were also sent east: I Minervia from Bonn in Upper Germany, II Adiutrix from Aquincum, and V Macedonica from Troesmis. –––, On Duties, tr.

Marcus Cornelius Fronto ed. The study of textbook Stoicism shows us that anyone who tries to live as a Stoic will face a problem in specifying what the content of Stoic deliberation is supposed to be. The Armenian capital Artaxata was captured in 163. Severus is described as Marcus' "maternal great-grandfather"; he is probably the stepfather of the elder Lucilla. Experienced governors had been replaced by friends and relatives of the imperial family. Answer: Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (AD 121—180) was a Roman emperor (161—180) and Stoic philosopher.He may be best known in pop culture as the father of the villainous emperor Commodus, the antagonist in the 2000 film Gladiator.He is known in other circles as the author of Meditations, a guide … Marcus only accompanied the group as far as Brundisium, where they boarded a ship for the east. The hope has become a reality." Antoninus Pius' funeral ceremonies were, in the words of the biographer, "elaborate". After the death of Verus (169), Marcus led personally the struggle against the Germanic tribes for the great part of his remaining life. He wrote Fronto a letter on his birthday, claiming to love him as he loved himself, and calling on the gods to ensure that every word he learned of literature, he would learn "from the lips of Fronto". As part of Hadrian's terms, Antoninus adopted Marcus and Lucius Verus, the son of Lucius Aelius. © 2020 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. xii.1). Some other literary sources provide specific detail: the writings of the physician Galen on the habits of the Antonine elite, the orations of Aelius Aristides on the temper of the times, and the constitutions preserved in the Digest and Codex Justinianus on Marcus' legal work. Fronto's son-in-law, Aufidius Victorinus, was appointed governor of Upper Germany.


Soon after the conquest of the north bank of the Euphrates, other Roman forces moved on Osroene from Armenia, taking Anthemusia, a town southwest of Edessa. Perhaps we should associate desire (orexis) with pursuing, and welcoming with contentment upon receiving. After the death of Antoninus Pius, Marcus was effectively sole ruler of the Empire.

In April 145, Marcus married Faustina, as had been planned since 138. Is it because his grasp of Stoic physics is so tenuous that he must be open to the possibility that Epicurean physics is true (Rist 1982, 43, Annas 2004, 116)? "Caesar to Fronto. (Marcus had little need of his wife's fortune.

The outcome of the trial is unknown.
- 14 A.D. Augustus 14 - 37 Tiberius 37 - 41 Caligula 41 - 54 Claudius 54 - 68 Nero Year of the 4 Emperors, (ends with Vespasian) 68 - 69 Galba 69 Otho 69 Vitellius, 69 - 79 Vespasian 79 - 81 Titus 81 - 96 Domitian 5 Good Emperors, 96 - 98 Nerva 98 - 117 Trajan 117 - 138 Hadrian 138 - 161 Antoninus Pius 161 - 180 Marcus Aurelius (161 - 169 Lucius Verus), (The next cluster of emperors is not part of a specific dynasty or other common grouping, but includes 4 from the year of the 5 emperors, 193.) A majority of scholars take appropriate actions to be the type of action that is typically in accordance with nature, and would typically be selected by the virtuous person; however token actions of that type could fail to be in accordance with nature and would be rejected by the virtuous person. He compares the relationship between separate rational individuals and the community to limbs and body, which are so constituted as to work together (vii.13). Unlike the peaceful and prosperous rule of Antoninus, the joint reign of the two brothers was marked by war and disease. According to Hadot (103–4), by ‘erase impressions’ Marcus means ‘assent only to objective and physical descriptions of externals’. He believed Marcus was "beginning to feel the wish to be eloquent once more, in spite of having for a time lost interest in eloquence".

Marcus Aurelius (/ɔːˈriːliəs/; Latin: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus; 26 April 121-17 March 180 AD) was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. The campaign had only lasted three days. If the gods are willing we seem to have a hope of recovery. W.A.

[1] The private correspondence begins before Marcus is twenty and continues into his imperial years. The Parthian army dispersed in the Tigris. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors, and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. So you are confused: the result is that obtaining the reputation of a philosopher is no longer easy for you … If you have seen truly where the matter lies, then leave behind your reputation and be content even if you live the remainder of life, however long [it may be], as your nature wills. Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon I, was emperor of France from 1852 to 1870. Nonetheless, his biographer attests that his character remained unaffected: "He still showed the same respect to his relations as he had when he was an ordinary citizen, and he was as thrifty and careful of his possessions as he had been when he lived in a private household.". Marcus can consistently regard these ‘back-up’ arguments for a moment of weakness as weaker and less plausible than the Stoic arguments and at the same time as important to have at hand—as a smoker might hang on to ‘it gives you wrinkles’ for the moments in which ‘it gives you cancer’ isn't doing the trick.