Marcus Aurelius - Meditations: With Selected Correspondence (Oxford World’s Classics)

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Translation Robin Hard 2011
Editorial material Christopher Gill 2011

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First published as a Worlds Classics paperback 2011

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OXFORD WORLDS CLASSICS

MARCUS AURELIUS

Translated by
ROBIN HARD
With an Introduction and Notes by
CHRISTOPHER GILL

OXFORD WORLDS CLASSICS

MEDITATIONS

MARCUS AURELIUS (AD 12180) was born (as Marcus Annius Verus) into a distinguished Roman family; after his father died in his childhood, he was adopted first by his grandfather and then by his uncle, Aurelius Antoninus, who became emperor in 138. Marcus married Antoninus daughter, Faustina, in 145 and they had several children, including Commodus, his first and only surviving son, who succeeded Marcus as emperor. On the death of Antoninus in 161, Marcus became emperor, along with Lucius Verus, who had also been adopted by Antoninus. They ruled together until Lucius death from illness in 169. Marcus period as emperor was dominated by confronting serious external threats to the boundaries and stability of the empire, especially from the Parthians in the east and the Germans in the north. Much of the period 16880 was spent by Marcus in the Danube region, campaigning against the Germans, mostly successfully. In 175 there was a short and unsuccessful rebellion against him by Avidius Cassius. He died from illness in 180.

Marcus had the normal Roman aristocratic education in oratory and literature; his teachers included Fronto, and an extensive correspondence between them survives. But he was attracted from an early age to philosophy; the Stoic teachings of Epictetus were a special influence. The Meditations, probably written in his later years, served as a philosophical notebook in which he set down short reflections, based on Stoic ethics, summarizing the principles on which he based his life.

ROBIN HARD has translated Apollodorus Library of Greek Mythology for Oxford Worlds Classics, and is the author of the Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology.

CHRISTOPHER GILL is Professor of Ancient Thought at the University of Exeter. He has written extensively on ancient philosophy, especially on Hellenistic and Roman ethics and psychology.

THE Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is a work without parallel among writings surviving from Classical antiquityand an exceptional work in any age and culture. It is the philosophical diary of a Roman emperor, probably written while he was campaigning in Germany near the end of his life. In short, intense, and often powerful reflections, Marcus tries to articulate his core beliefs and values. Drawing mainly on Stoic philosophy, but formulated in his own way, Marcus finds the resources to help him meet challenges that he is acutely conscious of but which are also universal: facing ones own approaching death, making sense of ones social role and projects, looking for moral significance in the natural world.

Marcus (AD 12180) was born in Rome as Marcus Annius Verus into a family of Spanish origin which had already achieved political distinction. His father died while Marcus was a child, and he was brought up by his grandfather, a relative of the emperor Hadrian. Hadrian admired the young Marcus, calling him Verissimus (most truthful). When Hadrian chose Antoninus Pius as his heir and successor, he made Antoninus adopt as his sons Marcus and another young man, Lucius Verus. Marcus was educated by a number of famous teachers, including the orator Fronto; much of their correspondence survives, and a selection is included in this volume. From the age of 12, Marcus showed a strong interest in philosophy; after an early introduction to Stoicism, Junius Rusticus guided him to Epictetus Discourses, which formed an important influence on the Meditations (1.7). Marcus married Antoninus daughter, Faustina, his first cousin, in 145, and seemed to have had a largely happy marriage, with several children. In Book 1 of the Meditations (the only book which has a single theme and overall structure), Marcus reviews the ethical and intellectual influence of his family and friends, giving special attention to his adoptive father and predecessor as emperor, Antoninus Pius (1.16).