Philosophies of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Essay examples

Both Marcus Aurelius and Cicero try to create a guide, based on their stoic views, on how a person is supposed to live a purposeful life. Marcus Aurelius was an emperor and Cicero was a politician, so both serve somebody or something. In Cicero’s “On Friendship” he bases his guides on what he has learned from important people in his life. In Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations” he bases his guide off of what he has learned as an emperor with stoic views. Some of what he Aurelius has learned is different from Cicero’s view of stoicism; an example of this is in section seven of Meditations. Section seven of Meditations is about what Aurelius learned from his tutor. He states, “Endure hardship, and have few needs; to do things for myself and not

After the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius was adopted by his grandfather,Annius Verus. His grandfather was a city prefect under Hadrian. This required him to watch over the city , during the absence of the emperor. His grandfather was also a consul three times.

Marcus Aurelius was “...proclaimed emperor on March 7,161… [and] petitioned the senate that Lucius Verus also receive… the tribunal and proconsular power” this was the first ever instance that Rome had two emperors (“Marcus”). During his term he “...faced considerable unrest on the empires frontiers…” just a few of these were invasion from Europe, Britain, and Asia minor (“Aurelius”-91-92). Aurelius was “Enormously popular from the first, Marcus... remained so largely throughout [his life]” this made it possible for him to easily win the peoples trust and eliminate civil war (“Marcus”).

After that in his reign he went to Britain, intensifing Hadrian's Wall and recovering the Antonine Wall. In 208 AD he in intruded Caledonia, but his ambitions were stoped while he fell fatally ill in lat 210. Severus died in early 211 at Eboracum, succeeded by his sons Caravalla and Gera. He last advive to his sons "Keep on good terms with each other, be generous to the soldiers, and take on heed of anyone else!" After he smoothly of his sons, Severus began the Severan Dynasty, the last dynasty of the empire before the Crisis of the Third

Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, Trajan for short, was a highly successful Roman general and Emperor in the early part of the first millennium. He started his career as a successful general, expanding the Roman Empire. He was later the first Roman Emperor not to be Italian and successfully extended the Roman Empire to its greatest extent as well as initiated many public building projects, some of which survived into the present day. Trajan was born into a non-practician family on the 18th of September at Italica near Seville, Spain in 53 CE and he died on the 9th of August in Selinus in Cilicia in 117 CE. His Dad was a senator and a general.

In 175 AD Avidius Cassius became the new Roman Emperor after the false news of Marcus Aurelius' death. These sources believe that Avidius Cassius was encouraged by Faustina II herself, because she was deeply concerned by Marcus Aurelius' health. Faustina II wanted and emperor that she could trust, thus she helped Cassius. However, he was only an emperor for a short period of time, because he was killed and his head was sent to Marcus Aurelius. This revolt is still debated, because sources state different facts, it is still believed that Faustina acted the way she did because she was worried about her family after Marcus Aurelius’ death.

Commodus was bred to live like a king but wasn 't born to rule as one. He was the most questionable emperors in the history of Rome. His rise to power is and always will be deliberated. The young emperor inherited the power from his father, Marcus Aurelius, the former emperor of Rome. Commodus was the Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father 's death in 180. "Lucius Aurelius Commodus was born on the 31 of August AD 161 at Lanuvium," approximately 14 miles southeast of Rome. "Of the fourteen children of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger, Commodus was the tenth heir of the couple." He was born one of as the counterparts, though his twin sibling deceased when he was only four years old. He has bestowed the name Commodus in celebration of Marcus Aurelius ' co-emperor, who had formerly owned it.

Octavian was the first Roman emperor; he was born in the year 63 B.C. and died in 14 A.D. His great uncle was Julius Caesar and Octavian was Julius Caesar’s adopted son and heir. Octavian’s ambition of becoming a Roman emperor was such that ever since his youth he was always dreaming, thinking, and talking about it. Octavian was twenty years old when Julius Caesar died. Octavian wanted to punish those responsible for his adopted father’s death.

After all, this was what he was doing in his off-time when he was not campaigning or managing the empire. As stated above, this is a response to the philosophical tradition that had been in development since before the time of Plato. Ideas upon ideas built upon each other, like a conversation, advancing ideas until it culminates into the present thinker, who at this time is Marcus Aurelius. It is therefore a response to all the philosophy he has read and all the experiences in his life that has had an impact upon his worldview. As emperor, Marcus had great influence over the lives of millions of individuals and even the power over life and death as a commander and in certain executive decisions. It is interesting to find that Marcus in his position does not hold lofty opinions on the afterlife or vest his authority in that of the gods, rather he promotes and egalitarian view that the lives and affairs of men are a part of nature and the termination of such is a natural event which is not to be feared despite living in a time in which people met ends outside the luxuries provided by modern

“Cogito ergo sum;” I think therefore I am. This philosophical statement stimulated a renaissance in the field of philosophy, creating modern Western philosophy as is known today. This important notion was dictated by Rene Descartes in his 1641 metaphysics work, Mediations on First Philosophy, and influenced all modern philosophical works written after Descartes revolutionary achievement. This work was written at a time when modern physics was being developed as a mathematization of nature. The principles of metaphysics contain in Meditations were developed in order to serve as the basis for this new system of physics. In it, Descartes refutes many Aristotelian beliefs that were popular and accepted by the clergy for nearly the entirety of

Marcus Aurelius, was born in 121 C.E. Growing up his focus of education was overseen by Emperor Hadrian and soon taken over by Emperor Antonius teaching him more of a rhetoric (Sellars, 2002). As the years progressed he shifted in to a study of philosophy leading to him becoming what we know as one of the most important Stoic philosophers. Marcus Aurelius became an emperor in A.D. 160 lasting to A.D.180. he was working closely with Lucius Verus in 169 and his son Commodus in 177 (Crook, 2017). Marcus Aurelius later passed away in A.D. 180, yet his most personal literature is still read today, Meditations.

Aurelius might have been destined to rome to 121. As much father, Annius Verus, might have been a consular who and stemmed starting with An in length transport for nobles; as much mother, Domitia Lucilla, might have been great educated, familiar Previously, Greek, greatly wealthy, and also for noble conception. Those Meditations might have been composed done Greek, An dialect often favored in Aurelius's the long run for meets expectations about logic. If or not aurelius deliberately picked to compose as much notes over Greek due to its conventional connection will logic may be open to debate, Be that it may be reasonable that he required not polished as much worth of effort alternately laid it out systematically, Furthermore its time permits he never proposed should do with the goal.

At the age of five Commodus was named Caesar, and at the age of seventeen he became co-Augustus with his father. He spent his childhood accompanying Marcus Aurelius on political campaigns, and learned a lot on how to run an empire. However, after the death of his father the people of Rome found that the years under Marcus Aurelius had not impacted Commodus' leadership skills. Commodus' reign was filled with bad decisions, causing the people of Rome

Marcus Aurelius was born 121 AD in Rome. His father died three years after. He was then adopted by his grandfather who provided teachers for Marcus, all of whom he expresses gratitude for in Book 1. At age seventeen, Marcus was adopted

Emperor Commodus By all accounts was a handsome man, with curly blonde hair. But he appeared to possess a weak character and was easily influenced by others. But so too was he prone to cruelty and excessive behavior. To an extent his behavior was still held in check, when his father was still alive, although then too some believed to detect the signs of a new Nero in the young heir. Cassius ' earlier rebellion, when he mistakenly thought Marcus Aurelius had died, might well have been inspired by a fear of what was to come if Commodus came to the throne. Commodus was a crazed power lunatic who thought he was a God and fought in the Gladiator events thinking he could not die. Commodus was in fact a terrible one. Cruelty, vanity, power and fear formed into a terrifyingly dangerous mix of bloodlust, suspicion and megalomania. Commodus should be remembered as a monster, a tyrant who renamed months in his own honor, and who slaughtered his way through the circuses in ludicrous displays of 'manliness '.