Philosophy Let's Read: Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius

[Curved_Sw0rd]

It should be noted that the translation I'm using is by Gregory Hays, one of the more recent ones, if not the most.

Where to begin then? Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor, one of the last Emperors reigning over the Pax Romana, and is most well known for his scholarly pursuits. Plato dreamed of a Philosopher King, and that dream was, even if Marcus would likely reject it, realized in the follower of Stoicism we'll be following today. The Meditations are an old work, not quite a book proper, nor where they likely meant to be seen by anyone but Marcus, but more likely the Emperor's attempt at practicing his philosophy. Little notes to himself, written down and reviewed. All the same, this is one of the most important texts in Stoic Philosophy.

So, let's get to it? The way the book is organized does make verse by verse commentary easy enough.

Book 1: Debts and Lessons.

1. My Grandfather Verus
Character and self-control.

If the title of the book didn't give it away, this is Marcus assessing the things he admires and can learn from in the people him his life. I can only assume he knew of his grandfather from stories, not first hand account. Even then, character and self-control are virtues even today.

2. My Father (From my own memories and his reputation)
Integrity and manliness.

It should be noted that Marcus's father was only in his life for a short time, dying when Marcus was around 3. Most of what he would learn about his father would come from those who knew him, though it can surprise you what one can remember, even at a young age. Another thing to note, while Integrity is self-explanatory, Manliness as we know and the Manliness the Romans know might be very different. It's not my area of expertise, but I'm sure some insights are coming down the road.

3. My Mother
Her reverence for the divine, her generosity, her inability not only to do wrong to even conceive of doing it. And the simple way she lived - not in the least like the rich.

What do good Romans consider divine? Nature, perhaps? There's clearly more to Roman spirituality than marble statues, but again this isn't my area of expertise. The way Marcus describes his mother here is some exceptional praise. Not just a virtuous person by action, but by purity of thought. And humble, as well, if that last line is anything to go by. So often one thinks of Roman nobility as decadent, drinking and eating and fornicating in excess, with all manner of luxury mixed in. Not too dissimilar to today's elite. How much can you stomach before you're just flexing on your peers? Or being wasteful?

4. My Great-Grandfather
To avoid the public schools, to hire good private teachers, and to accept the resulting costs as money well spent.

There's no surrounding context, but with a lesson this robust I'm not sure we can really blame Marcus for that. Education sets the tone for a child's life, full stop. A poor education sets people back incredibly, I've had first-hand experience with this. One could even call a poor education sinful, with how damning and damaging it is.

Money well spent indeed.

5. My First Teacher
Not to support this side or that in chariot racing, this fighter or that in the games. To put up with discomfort and not make demands. To do my own work, mind my own business, and have no time for slanderers.

Well damn, that's money well spent right there, points to Great Grandpa. One can transpose this wisdom into a modern context. Don't fret over your favorite sports team too much, or put too much stake into your favorite UFC fighter, there's always a chance it won't go the way you think.

Discomfort if a fact of life, more things than not aren't worth complaining about. It's wisdom more people could subscribe to, in my estimation. Especially today. There's not much else for me to comment on, as it speaks for itself.


Now that's going to be it for today, but there's more to come. The book might not look like much, but it's pretty dense, lots of individual things to address and discuss. This is going to be fun.

 

[Deleted member]

There's essentially virtue in every single line. There's a reason it was Mattis' reading material on campaign. If you don't have much time for reading, taking a few verses and chewing on them is exactly the perfect opportunity for learning.

 

[Curved_Sw0rd]

There's essentially virtue in every single line. There's a reason it was Mattis' reading material on campaign. If you don't have much time for reading, taking a few verses and chewing on them is exactly the perfect opportunity for learning.

Indeed, it's a very rich book. I've been enjoying it so far, despite finding so little motivation to read. Even small sessions with it, provide some insight.

Anyway, let's get back to it. Some of these might take longer, so no promises on timely updates. The verses are getting bigger, too.

6. Diognetus
Not to waste time on nonsense. Not to be taken in by conjurors and hoodoo artists with their talk about incantations and exorcism and all the rest of it. Not to be obsessed with quail-fighting or other crazes like that. To hear unwelcome truths. To practice philosophy, and to study with Baccheius, and then with Tandasis and Marcianus. To write dialogues as a student. To choose the Greek lifestyle - the camp bed and the cloak.

We've all encountered nonsense in our lives, and I'm sure I'm not alone in having one's time wasted by it. Fake friends, interests you were shanghai'd into, people who are going nowhere fast... Conjurors and hoodoo artists, that's a special kind of nonsense, enough to earn its own line here. Showmanship and theater can't change the world, not the real world, anyway...

Unwelcome Truths are a necessary thing. You need to hear them, if you want to grow as a person. You'll be living in a fantasy otherwise, a fantasy that, when it falls, will rock you like nothing else. Note, I want to say this isn't an invitation to despair. The world isn't a fair place, it's cold, ruthless, and will mess you up if you let it. That is no excuse to give up. You can perform Good, with a capital G. And all the little Good things can add up.

Philosophy requires practice. You have to write it, even if it's only for yourself as Marcus does here. You also need to be taught, and in today's age, there is no shortage of teachers. Books, documentaries, YouTube channels, bookmarked posts, to say nothing of actual other people. A teacher doesn't have to be some dedicated professor, it can be anyone. A friend. A peer. A stranger. An adversary,

And there's something to be said about travel. Before the Internet, what other way was there to find new people and new perspectives? And a photo or jpeg is nice enough, when admiring the beauty of the world, but does it really compare to being there? I don't think so.

7. Rusticus
The recognition that I needed to train and discipline my character. Not to be sidetracked by my interest in rhetoric. Not to write treatises on abstract questions, or deliver moralizing little sermons, or compose imaginary descriptions of The Simple Life or The Man Who Only Live For Others. To steer clear of oratory, poetry, and belles lettres.

Not to dress up just to stroll around the house, or things like that. To write straightforward letters (like the one he sent my mother from Sinuessa). And to behave in a conciliatory way when people who have angered or annoyed us want to make up. To read attentively - not to be satisfied with "just getting the gist of it." And to not fall for every smooth talker.
And for loaning me Epictetus's lectures - and loaning me his own copy.

It's a good idea to think of one's self as a constant "Work in Progress." You can change, for the worse as well as for the better, but it's ultimately your decision. Make the right one, yeah?

The rest of that first paragraph, I do have some disagreements with. While moralizing little sermons haven't done anything but pull on people's strings, in my estimation, there's value in grappling with abstract questions. There's value in playing around with archetypes or premises that are common, like I assume The Simple Life and The Man Who Only Lives For Others are. Poetry, oration, writing that isn't classifiable (which is arguably what the Meditations are), are not just fun, they can be learning experiences, avenues to self-discovery, and so on. I guess this is stodgy Romans being stodgy Romans.

Dressing up for no reason? Yeah? I'm with you two there. If you're not going anywhere, who do you need to impress? I know, I know, surprises, but still, getting cleaned up isn't that hard... There's merit in being straightforward with people you're corresponding with, too. Metaphor and flowery language has its place, but sometimes it's best to be blunt.

Reading attentively is damn important. Is it easy, especially for someone like me with ADHD? No. But it's worth doing, in fiction and non-fiction there's always little details one can miss. And often it's the little things that make up a bigger picture than the sparknotes version can hope to paint.

Who's a smooth talker that sucked you in? That made you think they had all the answers? I can't imagine I'm alone in that. Learning to be critical of who you listen to, their biases and flaws, it's a hard lesson at first, but it's a worthwhile truth. Sometimes people are full of shit. It happens.

And good on Rusticus, lending Marcus those lectures like that. Honestly, as far as gifts go, a book can be one of the most meaningful... Its an invitation to learn, an invitation to share a world with someone else. What's better than that?

That's all for now. The verses only get longer from here, in book one, but this is getting easier for me. Let me know what you think, where I got stuff wrong, where you agree or disagree with Marcus, yadda yadda.

 

[Curved_Sw0rd]

Another day, another entry. This is as much for my sake as it is everyone viewing the thread here. Reading this closely, responding to it in real time, line by line.

8. Apollonius
Independence and unvarying reliability, and to pay attention to nothing, no matter how fleetingly, except the logos. And to be the same in all circumstances - intense pain, the loss of a child, chronic illness. And to see clearly, from his example, that a man can show both strength and flexibility.

His patience in teaching. And to have seen someone who clearly viewed his expertise and ability as a teacher the humblest of virtues.

And to have learned how to accept favors from friends without losing your self-respect or appearing ungrateful.

Our first mention of the Logos! Now we need to keep in mind this is in the context of Stocism and Greek Philosophy, so it's divorced from the Christian meaning. I don't know if I'm getting this right, if not, please correct me, but I believe the Logos refers to the natural, rational world, in a physical and metaphysical sense. It's something we're part of, as thinking, self-aware beings. What Apollonius and Marcus are asking of us is to keep grounded, in a sense. You're in the real world, not some ideal, not some fantasy. Act like it. The real world will throw things at you, death, disease, injury, loss, but you can persevere. You can persist, and show strength for it, after all, that's what the world requires of you.

Good teachers don't get enough credit. To be a proper teacher, patience is necessary. How else can you reach out to a student? To know they're learning? To know you're getting through? You have to adjust as needs must to make sure your job gets done. It's a bit of a sacrifice. A sacrifice of time, of effort. And it pays off, for teacher and student both.

It can be difficult, knowing when it's appropriate to accept help or charity. Too much, and you're a mooch. Too little and you'll leave friends feeling rebuked. Bit of a balancing act, that. It's a line that speaks for itself.

9. Sextus
Kindness.
An example of fatherly authority in the home. What it means to live as nature requires.

Gravity without airs.

To show intuitive sympathy for friends, tolerance to amateurs and sloppy thinkers. His ability to get along with everyone: sharing his company was the highest of compliments, and the opportunity an honor for those around him. To investigate and analyze, with understanding and logic, the principals we ought to live by.

Not to display anger or other emotions. To be free of passion and yet full of love. To praise without bombast; to display expertise without pretension.

Taken as a whole this reads less like a teacher, and more of a good friend of Marcus. The kind of friend that shows you the way just by being themselves. Line by line we get more and more of a clear picture. Someone who's soft spoken, but their words have weight and value. Thoughtful and introspective enough to make the best of things, even when confronted by those who are imperfect or biased. A sort of genuine kindness, with no airs or exaggeration. Down to earth and all that.

Seems like someone I'd have loved to meet, had I been born a Roman.

10. The Literary Critic Alexander
Not to be constantly correcting people, and in particular not to jump on them whenever they make an error of usage or a grammatical mistake or mispronounce something, but just answer their question or add another example, or debate the issue itself (not their phrasing), or make some other contribution to the discussion - and insert the right expression, unobtrusively.

This is just damn sound advice. Advice I can imagine a lot of people here on The Sietch can related to. So very often people quibble over the minor mistakes. Grammar and pronunciation, we have jokes about such things. But there's a number of logical fallacies and Gotcha! moments people exploit, not to win the debate from a logical standpoint, but to make the other person look like a fool.

There's a time and place to ask for elaboration on the little things, do your best to know it in the proper manner.

11. Fronto
To recognize the malice, cunning, and hypocrisy that power produces, and the peculiar ruthlessness often shown by people from “good families."

Short but sweet, this one. Power corrupts. Very curious about that "Good families" line.

12. Alexander The Platonist
Not to be constantly telling people (or writing them) that I’m too busy, unless I really am. Similarly, not to be always ducking my responsibilities to the people around me because of “pressing business."

Have you ever stood up a friend because, well, you didn't feel like hanging out? Did you lie, and say you were busy? There is reason to avoid it. Your friend could have trouble and be in dire need of a distraction, you never really know. Excuses are just that, excuses.

13. Catulus
Not to shrug off a friend’s resentment - even unjustified resentment - but try to put things right. To show your teachers ungrudging respect (the Domitius and Athenodotus story), and your children unfeigned love.

Don't be a fake friend. Listen, hear them out, and settle those differences like adults. Respecting one's teachers is important, how can you learn from someone you don't take seriously? Or from someone who doesn't take you seriously?

And to show your children love. It should go without saying. Should.

That's all for the day, maybe. I might be up for another post, we'll see. The two final entries in this chapter are quite large, and there'll be a lot to talk about. I'll need to focus for good long while on writing those out...

 

[Curved_Sw0rd]

Better late than never. Busy life and days to recover, to get into the right mindset.

14. (My Brother) Severus
To love my family, truth and justice. It was through him that I encountered Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion and Brutus, and conceived of a society of equal laws, governed by equality of status and of speech, and of rulers who respect the liberty of their subjects above all else. And from him as well, to be steady and consistent in valuing philosophy.

And to help others and be eager to share, not to be a pessimist, and never to doubt your friends’ affection for you. And that when people incurred his disapproval, they always knew it. And that his friends never had to speculate about his attitude to anything: it was always clear.

Some of the best friends you'll make come from friends you already know. But read that again, a society of equal laws, equality of status and speech? Valuing Liberty above all else? We sure Marcus isn't a time-traveling Founding Father? Some of that sounds like something straight out of The Enlightenment.

Moving on... Eager to share could have multiple meanings. Sharing thoughts? Food and drink? Knowledge? All good things to share where you can, in all honesty. And perhaps there's something to be said about being genuine. Sometimes it serves your friends when you call them out on things they could be doing better, or to hear one's honest thoughts.

15. Maximus

Self-control and resistance to distractions.

Line by line this time. That's how it's organized in the book. Anyway, self-control is a necessity, especially in today's era. So many people fall to outrage, say and act on it in ways they shouldn't. Distractions can waste your valuable time if you let them add up.

Optimism in adversity - especially illness.

Sometimes a positive outlook is all you need to get through a rough day. Hold onto it, sometimes, you just might need to.

A personality in balance: dignity and grace together.

Somewhat self-explanatory. Carrying oneself with dignity and grace is a learned skill in both instances. Practice makes perfect.

Doing your job without whining.

Amazing how many people forget this.

Other people’s certainty that what he said was what he thought, and what he did was done without malice.

A rather roundabout way of calling the man earnest, Marcus. It's still good advice all the same. It's an air you less cultivate and more earn.

Never taken aback or apprehensive. Neither rash nor hesitant - or bewildered, or at a loss. Not obsequious - but not aggressive or paranoid either.

Maximus seems like he's always in the moment, going with the flow as it were. It's a rare trait to have.

Generosity, charity, honesty.

I don't know what more there is to say there.

The sense he gave of staying on the path rather than being kept on it.

Have you ever had to ask for help in regards to keeping your promises? Your responsibilities? It's better than nothing, but it's all the better to reach the point you can maintain the discipline yourself. Don't get discouraged. Don't give up, you'll make it.

That no one could ever have felt patronized by him - or in a position to patronize him.

Sincerity.

A sense of humor.

Never a bad thing to have.

That's going to be all for the day. I don't feel satisfied with this, but I wanted to accomplish something today...

 

[Rocinante]

Oh man am I happy to find this thread. I've just read 4 books on stoicism and am reading a book on Marcus now called "how to think like a Roman emperor"

Once I get time to read this I'll probably have some decent input.

Stoicism is a life and mind changing philosophy. I write my own reflections /meditations every morning and night, much like Marcus himself.

Stoicism isn't the kind of philosophy you simply read. It's the kind you practice, and it's the root of modern cognitive behavioral therapy. Good stuff.

I saw you mention the logos. One thing to keep in mind when you read the stoics, is that they talk about living according to nature a lot. They viewed nature almost as a god or spirit itself. They aren't just talking about going out into the woods, but cosmic nature. The universe as a whole. They believed it was a rationally well organized system. Keep that in mind when you see Marcus refer to nature.

There isn't much in the way of proper organization in Meditations so far as I can tell. If you're interested in the philosophy and want to start implementing immediate changes, the first thing to do is to start focusing on your sphere of control. What's in your control and what isn't? The stoics clarify on this a lot, but essentially your choices are under your control. Not much else.

Not even emotions. Emotions come and go like a sense of taste. How you act on them is under your control. Let's compare food and anger. If you taste bad food, or experience something that makes you angry, it's already happened. You can't control that. You tasted the bad food. You felt the anger. Once you're at the point of recognizing it, you're too late. So what can you do? Well it's your choice to eat that food or spit it out. You have the same choice with anger.

Emotions are essentially the 6th sense. They come and go without our control. It's how we act and perceive that is under our control.

We must work to recognize what's in our control and what isn't. Externals are outside of our control.

So what do we do about externals that are outside of our control? We recognize just that. We perceive them differently. Why should I rationally be angry about something I can't control? Externals are indifferent. Not good or bad. They just happen.

It's a very common mistake to think stoics supress their emotions. Not at all. They talk of anger, love and joy and all that. They just train themselves not to respond to externals in an emotional way.

I can expand more on this if anyone has questions. I could write a book on this. Technically, I HAVE written a book on this. So I wouldn't mind answering what I can.

Not meaning to take over your thread, curved. It just seems a good place to expand on some thoughts while reading others thoughts.

I think meditations is actually a really bad place to start the study of stoicism. You kinda need to grasp the basics to get what Marcus was saying, as these were his personal writings for himself.

If you're interested in continuing your study of stoicism, I can't recommend enough, "the practicing stoic" by Ward Farnsworth. He puts things in a logical order and adds his very well informed interpretation of many of the passages. It's a great book.

 

[Curved_Sw0rd]

I can expand more on this if anyone has questions. I could write a book on this. Technically, I HAVE written a book on this. So I wouldn't mind answering what I can.

Not meaning to take over your thread, curved. It just seems a good place to expand on some thoughts while reading others thoughts.

By all means, go for it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[Rocinante]

By all means, go for it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Well to put it simply, stoics do not supress emotions. They use several techniques to view them differently.

Externals aren't good or bad. Your opinions of those things are good or bad. They do leave room for preference. Wealth is preferable to poverty, but poverty isn't necessarily bad. In fact, they'd argue that the secret to being rich is to want less, rather than to have more.

So how to we perceive things, then? Let's say you broke your leg in an accident. Our body itself is actually an external in this instance. Your leg is broken. You have no control over the fact that it's broken. It just is. So why should you be upset as if this is a bad thing? While certainly it may be preferable to not have a broken leg, the broken leg isn't necessarily something that should cause you too much emotional strife. Maybe it's a good opportunity to catch up on your reading, maybe it's a chance to grow yourself into a stronger person and build character?

You can apply this kind of logic to ALL externals. Ultimately if you're anguishing over an external that's beyond your control, that was your choice to do so. You can only control your own mind.

So many people see how a stoic responds to something and thinks they're supressing emotions. They aren't. They're simply altering their perceptions of events that typically evoke strong emotional responses.

They use techniques similar to cognitive behavioral therapy. They ask themselves what a rational response would be. They try to look at it from a different persons perspective, for example. It's easier to recognize an external and a proper response if you imagine the same thing happening to someone else, and the rational actions you think they should take.

At the same time they give room for those intial proto-emotions. They're simply inescapable, like jumping when startled or crying when a loved one dies. You're to accept those emotions, and then work to adjust using rational thought. NOT to supress them. They're an early warning sign that you're about to spiral into an emotional state, and they give your logical mind a chance to look at things rationally.

Marcus Aurelius himself cried at the loss of one of his tutors, in court hearing about all the death caused by the plague. He didn't supress those emotions.

These same ideas, thousands of years old have worked their way into modern therapy. It's quite fascinating. Stoicism gets a bad name, and if often misunderstood and not practiced properly, because people think it just means biting your upper lip and holding in emotions.

 

[Rocinante]

On mobile and the interface on here is absolute trash so I'm not fixing typos until later.

 

[Curved_Sw0rd]

I've been putting this one off. I did say it was a long entry...

16. My Adopted Father

Compassion. Unwavering adherence to decisions, once he’d reached them. Indifference to superficial honors. Hard work. Persistence.

Listening to anyone who could contribute to the public good.

His dogged determination to treat people as they deserved.

This is Antoninus Pius, the Emperor preceding Marcus. And that very first word, compassion, seems to set the tone for the kind of lessons Marcus took away from his adopted father. Sticking by his decisions, treating meaningless honors as just that, meaningless. Seeing the value of a good work ethic, I'm liking this guy already.

Hearing someone out, especially if they have the potential to provide a public good, it's good advice not just for an Emperor, but in general. How else can a community grow?

A sense of when to push and when to back off.

Putting a stop to the pursuit of boys.

That first line, it's social awareness, it's a learned skill and a damn important one. Doubly so for any sort of leader.

But oh man, that last line there. It's no secret that Rome had, well, a problem with this sort of thing. Romans found it acceptable to sleep with young boys, due to some loophole in what was considered manly and what wasn't, if I'm not mistaken. It goes without saying there's many, many ways for this to go wrong, physically, morally, spiritually... And I imagine Antoninus had a helluva time clamping down on it, all the more reason to respect him and Marcus both.

His altruism. Not expecting his friends to keep him entertained at dinner or to travel with him (unless they wanted to). And anyone who had to stay behind to take care of something always found him the same when he returned.

His searching questions at meetings. A kind of single-mindedness, almost, never content with first impressions, or breaking off the discussion prematurely.

His constancy to friends - never getting fed up with them, or playing favorites.

What do your friends owe you? And what do you owe them? One certainly doesn't have an obligation to act one way or the other, nor to demand one's company whenever it suits them. And are your friendships not better for that?

Sometimes you need to ask questions. Ask people to explain things, to show you what they really mean. Follow things to their logical conclusion.

And no one likes a fair weather friend.

Self-reliance, always. And cheerfulness.

And his advance planning (well in advance) and his discreet attention to even minor things.

His restrictions on acclamations - and all attempts to flatter him.

All solid virtues. Not much I can say beyond that.

His constant devotion to the empire’s needs. His stewardship of the treasury. His willingness to take responsibility - and blame - for both.

His attitude to the gods: no superstitiousness. And his attitude to men: no demagoguery, no currying favor, no pandering. Always sober, always steady, and never vulgar or a prey to fads.

It's one thing to care for and nurture your charge, the Empire in Antoninus's case. It's entirely another thing to be able to say you failed, when you inevitably do. Humility sounds easy, until it's time.

If there's one thing I want to know more about, it's the relationship the Romans had to their pagan gods. From the look of it, Marcus isn't a particularly zealous man, something he inherited or learned from Antoninus. Is that an extension of Stoicism? It'd make sense, I suppose.

The way he handled the material comforts that fortune had supplied him in such abundance - without arrogance and without apology. If they were there, he took advantage of them. If not, he didn’t miss them.

No one ever called him glib, or shameless, or pedantic. They saw him for what he was: a man tested by life, accomplished, unswayed by flattery, qualified to govern both himself and them.

One can have wealth without having greed in their heart, or any of the other sins that give the wealthy a bad rap today. Being able to live with and without luxury is quite the lesson to learn. More people could use that lesson today, instead of all this privilege blubbering.

Rome was lucky to have a leader they could be proud of. And it seems they truly loved their Emperor. You don't earn that sort of admiration easily.

His respect for people who practiced philosophy - at least, those who were sincere about it. But without denigrating the others - or listening to them.

His ability to feel at ease with people - and put them at their ease, without being pushy.

His willingness to take adequate care of himself. Not a hypochondriac or obsessed with his appearance, but not ignoring things either. With the result that he hardly ever needed medical attention, or drugs or any sort of salve or ointment.

Being able to listen to people is a valuable skill, especially in something so fraught with divisions as philosophy. It requires a measure of respect offered, even if there's no guarantee that respect will be reciprocated. And if not, that's not you if you did everything properly.

That second line can be compressed down to "warmth" I think.

Taking care of yourself isn't just for other people, it actually affects your mood and energy. Things like sleeping enough, drinking enough (talking about water here), taking care to cover a scrape or scratch... It all adds up, and if Marcus had known what medicine would cost in today's age I'm sure he'd mention it...

This, in particular: his willingness to yield the floor to experts - in oratory, law, psychology, whatever - and to support them energetically, so that each of them could fulfill his potential.

That he respected tradition without needing to constantly congratulate himself for Safeguarding Our Traditional Values.

Not prone to go off on tangents, or pulled in all directions, but sticking with the same old places and the same old things.

There's no shame in deferring to someone who knows more than you, and there's something to be proud of when you help someone spread their wings and become that very expert. A little encouragement here, a little advice there, it can very much make a difference.

The College Campus Talk clearly isn't for Antoninus, hehe...

Look, there's nothing wrong with trying new things or starting new projects, but that can be overdone, and you can find yourself having accomplished very little.

The way he could have one of his migraines and then go right back to what he was doing - fresh and at the top of his game.

That he had so few secrets - only state secrets, in fact, and not all that many of those.

The way he kept public actions within reasonable bounds - games, building projects, distributions of money and so on - because he looked to what needed doing and not the credit to be gained from doing it.

The man's recovery game is strong, damn.

I do consider the ability to have few secrets something a luxury, but I can be a pessimist when I want to. All the same, good on Antoninus, it takes good bit of security in one's self to have few secrets.

His governing reflected the kind of man he was. A strong, humble character breeds a strong, humble governance. One cannot exist without the other.

No bathing at strange hours, no self-indulgent building projects, no concern for food, or the cut and color of his clothes, or having attractive slaves. (The robe from his farm at Lorium, most of the things at Lanuvium, the way he accepted the customs agent’s apology at Tusculum, etc.)

He never exhibited rudeness, lost control of himself, or turned violent. No one ever saw him sweat. Everything was to be approached logically and with due consideration, in a calm and orderly fashion but decisively, and with no loose ends.

Excess and flaunting one's status doesn't serve you, not in any real tangible way. To be able to accept more common things shows your character, to a point. As long as one is moderate about some indulgences, just as they can't help you, they can't harm you.

Self-Control. A fine virtue, it simply requires practice and effort.

You could have said of him (as they say of Socrates) that he knew how to enjoy and abstain from things that most people find it hard to abstain from and all too easy to enjoy. Strength, perseverance, self-control in both areas: the mark of a soul in readiness - indomitable.

There are things out there that are hard to say no to. What does it say about your character, when you do it?Is that not something to cultivate?

The last words of the chapter are (Maximus's illness). I don't entirely know what it means, it could be something Marcus scribbled in the margins, or something that he wrote as he was writing his notes. It's hard to say.

 

[Rocinante]

The contrast between his adopted father and who IIRC was his grandfather, is quite notable. He writes of the virtues of his father a lot and I think he uses him as inspiration. Yet his grandfather, who's name escapes me, was far different. Prone to anger, would execute senators that opposed him, maim and maul slaves for dropping wine glasses.

I recall a story about Him violently removing a slave's eye because he broke a wine glass. He later felt bad and asked the slave what he could offer to make up for it. The slave just told him he wants his eye back.

Marcus used the example of his quite brutal grandfather as a contrast to his virtuous father. He used it as a lesson that acting in anger can have consequences.

He took after his father. His co-emperor brother...not so much. He was prone to traveling to resort areas, throwing extravagant parties and giving out lavish gifts. Quite different than Marcus.