A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, it remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Imitate all this that thou mayest have as good a conscience, when thy last hour comes, as he had.Nearly two thousand years after it was written, Meditations remains profoundly relevant for anyone seeking to lead a meaningful life.įew ancient works have been as influential as the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and emperor of Rome (A.D. Remember his constancy in every act which was conformable to reason, and his evenness in all things, and his piety, and the serenity of his countenance, and his sweetness, and his disregard of empty fame, and his efforts to understand things and how he would never let anything pass without having first most carefully examined it and clearly understood it and how he bore with those who blamed him unjustly without blaming them in return how he did nothing in a hurry and how he listened not to calumnies, and how exact an examiner of manners and actions he was and not given to reproach people, nor timid, nor suspicious, nor a sophist and with how little he was satisfied, such as lodging, bed, dress, food, servants and how laborious and patient and how he was able on account of his sparing diet to hold out to the evening, not even requiring to relieve himself by any evacuations except at the usual hour and his firmness and uniformity in his friendships and how he tolerated freedom of speech in those who opposed his opinions and the pleasure that he had when any man showed him anything better and how religious he was without superstition. Do everything as a disciple of Antoninus. There is only one fruit of this terrene life, a pious disposition and social acts. Strive to continue to be such as philosophy wished to make thee. Keep thyself then simple, good, pure, serious, free from affectation, a friend of justice, a worshiper of the gods, kind, affectionate, strenuous in all proper acts. Take care that thou art not made into a Caesar, that thou art not dyed with this dye for such things happen. According to AoM reader Brian, who submitted this manvotional, it’s a worthy selection “both because it is a show of respect and affection for his father and because he outlines what it means to be a man through his father’s example.” Enjoy.
In his Meditations, Aurelius gives a description of his adoptive father. This week’s Manvotional comes from the Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius.
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