Introduction
“The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it” (Brainymedia.com). This rumination about life is contained in a combination of 12 volumes entitled ‘Meditations’ written by the one and only philosopher-king ever known to mankind: Marcus Aurelius, fourteenth Emperor of the Roman Empire (Kolak).
Life history
Marcus was born on April 26, 121 A.D. in Rome. His parents, Annius Verus and Domita Lucila (Benario), died when he was young, leaving him to be brought up by his uncle Antoninus, a generous man of great wisdom. Marcus displayed a great interest in learning early in life, becoming totally proficient in geometry, music, literature, painting and mathematics at the tender age of 12 thereby proving one of his ruminations about life that “nothing in life is impossible to accomplish” (Brainymedia.com). Antoninus did Marcus a great service by appointing private tutors to teach him Greek, Latin and philosophy. Marcus was awarded the ‘toga virilism when he was just 14 years old (Kolak).
Marcus’ destiny to monarchy was spawned when Roman Emperor Hadrian took interest in him, fondly referring to him as ‘Verissimus’ (Benario). Hadrian decreed that Antoninus should succeed him, and he in turn should appoint Marcus as his successor.
Marcus, then only 17 years of age, took his destiny as heir-apparent to the imperial Roman throne seriously (Kolak). Following one of his ruminations about life “To begin is half the work, let half remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished” (Brainymedia.com), Marcus undertook rigorous preparations during the next 22 years that earned him public notoriety as an extraordinary statesman and philosophical visionary (Kolak).
Marcus ruled as Roman Emperor for 19 years . He earned the reputation as an honest, simple and kind person as well as strong and determined leader. Acting on one of his ruminations about life “Execute every act of the life as though it were thy last” (Brainymedia.com), he is credited with exerting optimum efforts to implement massive advancements on various fronts. On the education front he established 4 great schools of Philosophy – the Stoa, The Lyceum, The Garden and the Academy.
On the social front, he championed the cause of the poor and improved the mode of existence of slaves (Kolak). He advanced social mobility by allowing deserving men from the provinces to advance to the upper levels of the Roman aristocracy, thereby permitting people of low origins to access distinguished careers (Benario). The only glaring blemish was Marcus’ inordinate hatred of Christians; he considered them devious and dangerous, and as a result, subjected them to rigorous persecution. On the political front, Marcus is credited with successfully repulsing more attacks than any other Roman Emperor; in his role as the commander-in-chief of the mighty Roman army, he successfully repulsed invasions from Syria, Britain, Italy, Spain and the German tribes (Kolak).
Marcus married Hadrian’s daughter Faustina. The couple had 13 children. Faustina often used to go with Marcus on military expeditions. During one such expedition in Halala in 175 A.D., she met with an accident and died. Marcus constructed a temple in her memory and decreed that the city’s name ‘Halala’ would be replaced with ‘Faustinopolis.’ Marcus died of illness on March 17, 180 A.D. He was succeeded by his son Commodus (Benario).
Summary
Personally exemplifying one of his ruminations of life “The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away” (Brainymedia.com), Marcus Aurelius, also known as “Marcus Antoninus the Philosopher” (Benario), gave Romans ‘wealth’ in the form of significant and long-lasting political, social and educational gains; in return, Marcus earned the ‘wealth’ of gratitude and praise from his countrymen who looked upon his reign as the golden age in Roman history, lending emphasis to Plato’s claim: “States flourished if philosophers ruled or rulers were philosophers” (Benario).
References
Benario, Herbert W. “Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180).” Roman-emperors. 2001. Web.
Kolak, Daniel. “Marcus Aurelius Biography.” Wpunj. (N.d). Web.
“Marcus Aurelius Quotes.” Brainymedia. 2007. Web.