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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]

[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]

[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:

PREFACE

BIOGRAPHICAL 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