LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Marcus Aurelius
built 647 days ago
From a modern perspective Marcus Aurelius is certainly not in the first rank of ancient philosophers. He is no Plato or Aristotle, nor even a Sextus Empiricus or Alexander of Aphrodisias. To a certain extent this judgement is perfectly fair and reasonable. However, in order to assess the philosophical qualities that Marcus does have and that are displayed in the Meditations it is necessary to emphasize that in antiquity philosophy was not conceived merely as a matter of theoretical arguments. Such arguments existed and were important, but they were framed within a broader conception of philosophy as a way of life. The aim was not merely to gain a rational understanding of the world but to allow that rational understanding to inform the way in which one lived.
Source:
Marcus Aurelius was born in Rome as a descendent of Roman ancestors. When only a small child, he attracted the attention of the Emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138) - a paedophile. He was appointed by the Emperor to the priesthood in 129, and Hadrian ... supervised his education. Marcus Aurelius was taught by the most able teachers of the time. The Emperor Antonius, who succeeded Hadrian, adopted Marcus Aurelius as his son. He was admitted to the Senate, and then twice the consulship.
Source:
The significance of death was very important in the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. He didn't believe in the afterlife. He wrote: 'We live for an instant, only to be swallowed in "complete forgetfulness and the void of infinite time on this side of us." are now dead and burnt to ashes." According to Marcus Aurelius everything will be turned in absolute oblivion, even legends. "Of the life of man the duration is but a point, its substance streaming away, its perception dim, the fabric of the entire body prone to decay, and the soul a vortex, and fortune incalculable, and fame uncertain.
Source:
A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus’s insights and advice—on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others—have made the Meditations required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style.
Source:
Please note that this review refers specifically to the Loeb Classical Library edition of the works of Marcus Aurelius, edited and translated by C.R.Haines. All quotes are taken from this edition
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Marcus Aurelius