How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius

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He carefully observed how they lived in accord with reason and exhibited the cardinal virtues of wisdom, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

They do not share his love of wisdom and virtue, and they sneer at his vision of an empire that makes the freedom of its citizens its highest goal. Techniques and concepts from CBT have been adapted for use in resilience building, to reduce the risk of developing serious emotional problems in the future. From the moment we’re born we’re constantly dying, not only with each stage of life but also one day at a time.His most powerful general in the eastern provinces, Avidius Cassius, was acclaimed emperor by the Egyptian legion, triggering a short-lived civil war. It turned out to be a passage he’d torn from the Book of Exodus: “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Although we share many instincts with other animals, our ability to think rationally is what makes us human. I’m not sure I would have even been able to articulate exactly what I was looking for at that time, except that it would have to somehow combine my interests in philosophy, meditation, and psychotherapy. Marcus has been bereaved so many times, has practiced his response to it so often, that he no longer weeps uncontrollably.

Since completing his journal of reflections on philosophy several years earlier, Marcus has been passing through the final stage of a lifelong spiritual journey. Wisdom itself is uniquely valuable because it allows us to judge the value of external things—it’s the source of everything else’s value. And it is the same technique the reader can use to benefit from the personal instruction of Marcus Aurelius. I was always in trouble, either for skipping lessons at school, arguing with my teachers, or getting in fights with my classmates. I began to think that a book that taught Stoic principles through real stories about its ancient practitioners might prove helpful not just to my little girl but to other people as well.Stoicism therefore evolved out of Cynicism, and the two traditions remained very closely associated right down to the time of Marcus Aurelius. The wise man will endure pain and discomfort, such as undergoing surgery or engaging in strenuous physical exercise, if it’s healthy for his body and, more important, if it’s healthy for his character. Focusing his eyes weakly on his reflection, he tries to imagine one of the long-dead Roman emperors who preceded him gazing back. It involves picturing events as though seen from high overhead, as they might be seen by the gods atop Mount Olympus, perhaps. A fascinating history of Aurelius and his beliefs, and an insightful consideration of how they inform the practice of modern mindfulness.

The Stoic philosophy he follows has taught him to practice contemplating his own mortality calmly and rationally. Hadot discovered that contemplative practices became very common in the philosophical schools of the Hellenistic period, a few generations after the death of Socrates. Social, material, and physical advantages actually give foolish individuals more opportunity to do harm to themselves and others. Before long he grows tired and gestures for them to leave, wishing to continue his meditations in private. Likewise, replacing Commodus with a substitute ruler at this stage would leave the whole empire vulnerable.Marcus relied on mentors himself; in fact, in Book 1 of Meditations, Marcus provides a list of his mentors and their associated character traits that he would use to model his own behavior.