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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Thoughts Of The Emperor Marcus Aurelius
Antoninus, by Marcus Aurelius
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Title: The Thoughts Of The Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Author: Marcus Aurelius
Release Date: November, 2004 [EBook #6918]
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[This file was first posted on February 10, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THOUGHTS OF MARCUS AURELIUS ***
Produced by Robert Nield, Tom Allen, Charles Franks
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
[TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: All the footnotes have been moved to the end of the
text. I have also relabeled the book headings; [I., II., … XI.] has
been changed to [BOOK I., BOOK II., … BOOK XI.] at the start of each
Section. I have also added a “1. ” before the first “thought” in each
BOOK.]
THE THOUGHTS OF THE EMPEROR MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
LONG’S TRANSLATION EDITED BY EDWIN GINN
CONTENTS:
PREFACEBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
THE THOUGHTS
PHILOSOPHY OF MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
GENERAL INDEX
PREFACE.
Perhaps some may question the wisdom of putting out the Thoughts of
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to be used as a Reader by children in the
schools. It may appear to them better suited to the mature mind. The
principle, however, that has governed us in selecting reading for the
young has been to secure the best that we could find in all ages for
grown-up people. The milk and water diet provided for “my dear children”
is not especially complimentary to them. They like to be treated like
little men and women, capable of appreciating a good thing. One finds in
this royal philosopher a rare generosity, sweetness and humility,
qualities alike suited to all ages.
Adopting the philosopher’s robe at twelve, he remains a student all his
life. The precepts that he would give for the government of others, he
has practised upon himself. In his time, as in ours, there were good
physicians for the mind and body, who could make wise prescriptions for
the government of their neighbors, but were unable to apply them to
themselves. The faults of our fellows are so numerous and so easy to cure
that one is readily tempted to become the physician, while our own faults
are so few and so unimportant that it is hardly worth while to give any
attention to them. Hence we have a multitude of physicians for humanity
in general, and a scarcity of individual healers.
It was the doctrine of Marcus Aurelius that most of the ills of life come
to us from our own imagination, that it was not in the power of others
seriously to interfere with the calm, temperate life of an individual,
and that when a fellow being did anything to us that seemed unjust he was
acting in ignorance, and that instead of stirring up anger within us it
should stir our pity for him. Oftentimes by careful self-examination we
should find that the fault was more our own than that of our fellow, and
our sufferings were rather from our own opinions than from anything real.
The circle of man’s knowledge is very limited, and the largest circles do
not wholly include the smallest. They are intersecting and the segment
common to any two is very small. Whatever lies outside this space does
not exist for both. Hence arise innumerable contests. The man having the
largest intelligence ought to be very generous to the other. Being
thankful that he has been blessed in so many ways, he should do all in
his power to enlighten his less favored fellow, rather than be angry with
him on account of his misfortune. Is he not sufficiently punished in
being denied the light?
Assisting his uncle in the government of the great Roman Empire at
seventeen, it was his aim constantly to restrain the power of the strong
and to assist the weak. He studied the laws of his country, not for
wisdom alone, but that he might make them more beneficial to his people.
All his life he tried to bring his fellows to a higher level, and to
think charitably of each other. Occupying himself a palace he lived
simply, like other men. It was his greatest delight to retire to his
country home and there, dwelling among his books, to meditate upon the
great problems of life. He claimed that a man’s life should be valued
according to the value of the things to which he gave his attention. If
his whole thought was given to clothing, feeding and housing himself
comfortably, he should be valued like other well-housed and well-fed
animals. He would, however, derive the greatest pleasure and benefit in
this life by acting in accordance with reason, which demands of every
human being that his highest faculties should govern all the rest, and
that each should see to it that he treated his fellow kindly and
generously and that if he could not assist him to a higher level he
should at least not stand in his way. When he speaks of the shortness of
time and the value of fame, riches and power, for which men strive in
this world, he speaks not from the standpoint of one who would wish to
obtain these things, but as a Roman emperor enjoying the highest honors
that man might expect to attain in this world. He certainly was in a
position to speak intelligently concerning these matters, and his
opinions ought to have weight with the coming generations. Children may
not prefer to read such thoughts; perhaps the majority of children do not
prefer the Bible to other books. Still, we all think it is well for them
to be obliged to read it. Perhaps requiring the use of such literature in
the schools might be as valuable as the adding, subtracting, multiplying
and dividing of interminable numbers, the memorizing of all the capes,
bays and rivers in the world, and the dates of all the battles that have
occurred since the creation of man. We should strive to stimulate the
thinking powers of children, leading them to form wise judgments
concerning the important things of life, without catering too much to
their own wishes at an age when they cannot form an intelligent opinion
of what is best for themselves.
At our first reading of the Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, we
marked many sentences that appeared to us specially good; in the second,
twice as many more. Where all is good it is hard to emphasize, but we
will cite just one of his reflections, as illustrating the trend of his
mind: “I have often wondered,” he says, “how it is that every man loves
himself more than all the rest of men, and yet sets less value on his own
opinion of himself than on the opinion of others.”
We have given Long’s translation of the Thoughts complete, as published
by Messrs. Little, Brown & Co., but we have omitted some unimportant
portions of the biography and philosophy in the interest of space and
economy. We have also given the philosophy in a supplement, thinking it
better that it should come after the Thoughts themselves. We shall issue
a pocket edition on very thin paper for the convenience of such as wish
to make a special study of the work. We also propose to issue a similar
edition of the writings of Epictetus.
EDWIN GINN.
January 20, 1893.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS.
M. Antoninus, the son of Annius Verus and Domitia Calvilla, was born at
Rome, A.D. 121. The Emperor T. Antoninus Pius married Faustina, the
sister of Annius Verus, and was consequently the uncle of M. Antoninus.
When Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius and declared him his successor in the
empire, Antoninus Pius adopted both L. Ceionius Commodus and M.
Antoninus, generally called M. Aurelius Antoninus.
The youth was most carefully brought up. He thanks the gods (I. 17) that
he had good grandfathers, good parents, a good sister, good teachers,
good associates, good kinsmen and friends, nearly everything good. He had
the happy fortune to witness the example of his uncle and adoptive
father, Antoninus Pius, and he has recorded in his work (I. 16; VI. 30)
the virtues of this excellent man and prudent ruler. Like many young
Romans he tried his hand at poetry and studied rhetoric. There are
letters extant showing the great affection of the pupil for the master,
and the master’s great hopes of his industrious pupil.
When he was eleven years old he assumed the dress of philosophers,
something plain and coarse, became a hard student, and lived a most
laborious, abstemious life, even so far as to injure his health. He
abandoned poetry and rhetoric for philosophy, and attached himself to the
sect of the Stoics. But he did not neglect the study of law, which was a
useful preparation for the high place which he was designed to fill. We
must suppose that he learned the Roman discipline of arms, which was a
necessary part of the education of a man who afterwards led his troops to
battle against a warlike race.
Antoninus has recorded in his first book the names of his teachers, and
the obligations which he owed to each of them. The way in which he speaks
of what he learned from them might seem to savor of vanity or self-praise, if we look carelessly at the way in which he has expressed
himself; but if anyone draws this conclusion, he will be mistaken.
Antoninus means to commemorate the merits of his several teachers, what
they taught, and what a pupil might learn from them. Besides, this book,
like the eleven other books, was for his own use; and if we may trust the
note at the end of the first book, it was written during one of M.
Antoninus’ campaigns against the Quadi, at a time when the commemoration
of the virtues of his illustrious teachers might remind him of their
lessons and the practical uses which he might derive from them.
Among his teachers of philosophy was Sextus of Chaeroneia, a grandson of
Plutarch. What he learned from this excellent man is told by himself (I.
9). His favorite teacher was Rusticus (I. 7), a philosopher, and also a
man of practical good sense in public affairs. Rusticus was the adviser
of Antoninus
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