since Plato it had been the dream of wise men that one day there might be such a thing as a philosopher king this star born April 2621 ad was named Marcus Annas vys and for all impossible expectations and responsibilities he would manage to prove himself worthy of all of it the early days of the boy who would become Marcus Aurelius were defined by both loss and promise his father Varys died when he was three he was raised by his grandfathers who doed on him and who clearly showed him off at court even at an early
age he developed a reputation for honesty the emperor hadrien sensing his potential began to keep an eye on him by the time Marcus was 10 or 11 he'd already taken to philosophy dressing the part in Humble rough clothing and living with sober and restrained habits even sleeping on the ground the tough himself up Marcus would write later about the character traits he tried to Define himself by which he called epithets for the self and they were upright modest straightforward sane Cooperative disinterested hadrien who never had a son and had begun to think of choosing a
successor must have sensed the commitment to those ideas in Marcus from Boyhood on he must have seen as they hunted wild boar together some combination of courage and calmness compassion and firmness he must have seen something in his soul that Marcus likely could not even see himself because by Marcus's 17th birthday Adrien had begun planning something extraordinary he was going to make Marcus Aurelius the emperor of Rome on February 25th 138 ad Adrian adopted an able and trustworthy 55-year-old administrator named antoninus pasas on the condition that he in turn adopt Marcus Aurelius by the time
hadrien died a few months later Destiny was set Marcus Aurelius was groomed for a position that only 15 people had ever held in Rome he was to be made Caesar unlike most princes Marcus did not yearn for power we are told that when he learned he had been officially adopted by hadrien he was greatly saddened rather than Overjoyed perhaps that's because he would have rather been a or a philosopher reservations are not the same as cowardice however the most confident leaders the best ones are often worried that they won't do a good enough job they
go in knowing it will not be easy but they do proceed and Marcus around this time would dream a dream that he had shoulders made of ivory to him it was a sign he could do this it wasn't just the headwind of power that Marcus faced in life from his letters we know he had occurring painful health problems he became a father at age 26 A transformative and trying experience for any man in Marcus's case though fate was almost unbelievably cruel he and his wife fostina would have 13 children only five would survive into adulthood
his Reign from 161 to 180 was marked by the antonine plague a global pandemic that originated in the Far East spread mercilessly AC cross borders and claimed the lives of at least 5 million people over 15 years and he faced some 19 years of Wars at the borders but these external things don't deter a stoic Marcus believed that plagues and War could only threaten our life what we need to protect is our character how we act Within These Wars and plagues and life's other setbacks to abandon character that's real evil consider the first action that
Marcus aelius took in 161 ad when his adopted father antoninus pasus died Marcus Aurelius found himself in an even more complex situation he had an adoptive brother Lucius Varys who had even closer ties to Hadrian's Legacy what ought he do what would you do Marcus aelius cut this gordian knot with effortlessness and Grace he named his adoptive brother Lucius Veris co-emperor the first thing Marcus IUS did with absolute power was voluntarily share half of it but this was just one of several such gestures that defined Marcus aurelius's Reign when the antonine plague hit Rome and
the streets were littered with bodies and danger hung in the air no one would have faulted him for fleeing the city in fact that might have been a more prudent course of action instead Marcus stayed never showing fear reassuring the People by his very presence that he did not value his safety more than the respons possibilities of his office later when due to the ravages of the plagues and those endless Wars Rome's treasury was exhausted Marcus Aurelius was once again faced with the choice of doing things the easy way or the hard way he could
have levied high taxes he could have looted the provinces he could have kicked the can down the road running up bills his successors would have to deal with instead Marcus took all the Imperial ornaments to The Forum and sold them for gold as for us he once said to the senate about his family we are so far from possessing anything of our own that even the house in which we live is yours his dictum in life and in leadership was simple and straightforward do the right thing the rest doesn't matter no better expression or embodiment
of stoicism is found in his line and in his living then waste no more time talking about what a good man is like be1 at the core of Marcus aurelius's power as a philosopher and as a philosopher king seems to have been a pretty simple exercise that he must have heard about in senica's writings and then in epicus the morning or the evening review every day and night keep thoughts like these at hand epicus had said write them read them aloud talk to yourself and others about them so much of what we know about Marcus
aurelius's philosophical thinking comes from the fact that for years he did that he was constantly jotting down reminders and aphorisms of stoic thinking to himself the title meditations which dates to 167 ad translates as to himself this captures the essence of the book perfectly for Marcus was truly writing for himself as anyone who has read meditations can easily feel it is obvious in retrospect that Marcus used the pages of his journal to calm himself to quiet his active mind to get to the place of apatha the absence of passions he would have loved to have
spent all his time philosophizing but it was not to be so the few minutes he stole in his tent on campaign or even in his seat at the Coliseum as the Gladiators fought below he savored as opportunities for reflection there is no theme that appears more in Marcus's writing than death perhaps it was his own health issues that made him so acutely aware of his mortality but there were other sources since he did not flee Rome as many other wealthy citizens did during during the plague Marcus woke up in a surreal smelling City a mixture
of the putrid smell of dead bodies and the sweet Aroma of incense think of yourself as dead he writes you have lived your life now take what's left and live it properly on another page he says you could leave life right now let that determine what you do and say and think we're told that Marcus was quite sick toward the end far away from home on the Germanic battlefields near modern-day Vienna even with his own and moments away he was still teaching trying to be a philosopher particularly to his friends who were bereft with grief
why do You Weep For Me Marcus asked them instead of thinking about the pestilence and about death which is the common LW to us all then with the Dignity of a man who had practiced for this moment many times he said if you now grant me leave to go I bid you farewell and pass on before he would survive a day or so more perhaps it was in these last few moments week in body but still strong in will that he jotted down the last words that appear in his meditations a reminder to himself about
staying true to his philosophy so make your exit with Grace the same Grace shown to you finally on March 17th 180 at age 58 he covered his head to go to sleep and never woke up Rome and us her descendants would never see such greatness again [Music]
