philosophy · 170 – 180
The Emperor's Notebook
Marcus Aurelius writes in private Greek, for no reader, while commanding the empire on the Danube. The Meditations is the record of a ruler rehearsing the Stoic dichotomy under the worst conditions available — siege, plague, death of children — which makes it the most honest field report we have on maintaining a disposition while holding enormous power.
“Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things.”
Advances
- Amor fati — treating what happens as material to work with rather than to resist
- The duty of the ruler stated as a service, and the city as the only thing worth caring for
- Stoicism practised rather than lectured, in writing kept for oneself
Landmarks
170 CE
On the Danubian front
Composed during the Marcomannic wars; the northern campaign burns a third of his writing.
175 CE
Antonine plague
He dismisses a pressing appeal for help from the Senate and sends physicians instead.
180 CE
Dies at Vindobona
Left without a Christian successor; the notes are not published for centuries.
Who was arguing
Alignment stack at 180 CE (0 of 20 techniques)
Techniques introduced in this era: