What is Marcus Aurelius (马可·奥勒留)?
Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and Stoic author whose Meditations preserves personal notes on duty, mortality, judgment, and conduct. The work is associated with imperial and military responsibility, but its exact composition history is not fully recoverable.
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.
— Meditations, Book 5 (Marcus Aurelius)
Key Takeaways
- Marcus Aurelius (121–180 CE) ruled as Roman emperor from 161 to 180 CE and co-ruled with Lucius Verus until 169 CE.
- The Meditations, written in Greek and divided into twelve books, are personal notes for self-examination rather than a systematic treatise.
- Much of the work is associated with the emperor's military and administrative life, but individual composition dates and circumstances are not always recoverable.
Understanding Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121–180 CE) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 CE, sharing power with Lucius Verus until Verus's death in 169 CE. His Meditations, whose Greek title is commonly rendered as To Himself, survive as twelve books of personal notes on duty, mortality, judgment, and conduct. The notes are associated with periods of imperial and military responsibility, including campaigns on the Danube, but they are not a dated diary with a fully recoverable composition history. Calling them private self-addresses is safer than treating the modern book as a polished treatise or assigning every passage to one setting.
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Further Reading
Related Guides
- What is Ataraxia? — Marcus Aurelius practiced ataraxia
- What is Stoic Sage? — Marcus Aurelius aspired to sagehood
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Marcus Aurelius?
Marcus Aurelius was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 CE and a major surviving Roman Stoic author. His Meditations records personal reflections on duty, mortality, judgment, and the responsibilities of rule.
Was the Meditations written for publication?
The work reads as personal notes addressed to the author himself rather than a finished public treatise. That description is more secure than an absolute claim about Marcus's intentions or the complete history of how the text circulated.
Also Known As
Chinese: 马可·奥勒留. 马可·奥勒留, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus