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"The Art of Being Invincible" by Emperor Marcus Aurelius

2023-02-17 11:57:20Lifestyle SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

"The Art of Being Invincible" by Emperor Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was emperor of Rome from AD 161 until his death in AD 180. He was the last in a series of rulers that historians now refer to as the "Five Good Emperors." He was chosen as the imperial heir when he was still a child. Raised with his future work in mind, Aurelius was removed from the empire's public school system and educated at home by Greek tutors and Stoic philosophers.

As intended, this world-class education ended up having a positive impact on the reign of Marcus Aurelius.

His decisions were determined not by lust, jealousy or greed - as had been the case for many emperors - but by his deep understanding of law and logic. Often referred to as the very embodiment of Plato's "philosopher king," Marcus Aurelius always weighed his options, acting only when he felt he was making the right call.

Glimpses of the emperor's inner dialogue are revealed to us through the Meditations, a journal that Marcus Aurelius kept during his military campaigns in Central Europe. The contents of the diary - a collection of aphorisms on such topics as the brevity of life, self-acceptance and the relationship between reason and emotion - were, in all likelihood, never intended to be published. Indeed, Marcus Aurelius wrote the Meditations not to enlighten others, but to help himself bear the weight of his imperial responsibilities.

Both Marcus Aurelius and his Meditations occupy an important role in the history of Stoicism. This school of thought, founded in ancient Greece in the third century BC by Zeno of Citium (Hellenistic philosopher), is very much alive today. In so many words, Stoicism—and especially the Roman variety represented by Marcus Aurelius—is about helping people live fulfilling lives by maximizing positive emotions, minimizing negative ones, and cultivating a virtuous character. Throughout the Meditations, Marcus Aurelius not only wonders how he can be a better emperor, but also what it means to be a good man in general.

Marcus Aurelius was not a morning person

According to Marcus Aurelius, self-improvement should begin the moment you wake up. Of course, that was easier said than done. He was "a night owl" who went to bed at dusk and rose at dawn. For the vast majority of Romans, awakening was not a choice. The poor had to get out of bed because they had to report to work.

The middle classes, who were not part of the workforce, had to get out of bed to meet the wealthy clients who paid for their jobless lifestyles, and the wealthy clients had to get out of bed to met with the latter.

As emperor, Marcus Aurelius was almost the only person in the Roman Empire who didn't have to do anything. Many of his predecessors, including Nero and Caligula, spent their reigns shunning state affairs, divesting themselves of their estates, and emptying the imperial coffers. If Marcus Aurelius ever wanted to rest and continue to sleep, no one would have been able to stop him from doing so.

However, the emperor did not take a single day off. No matter how tired he was, he always got out of bed. In Meditations, he reveals how he managed to motivate himself: At dawn, when you find it difficult to get out of bed, say to yourself: “I have to go to work - as a human being. What should I complain of, if I am to do what I was born to do—the things for which I was brought into the world? Or is this what I was created for? Huddling under blankets and staying warm?

If his worst impulses refused to listen to reason, Marcus Aurelius would reply: So you were born to feel "good"? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don't you see the plants, the birds, the ants, the spiders, and the bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order as best they can? And you are not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren't you running to do what your nature calls for?

How to become invincible

For Marcus Aurelius, waking up early was more opportunity to make the most of the day. By forcing yourself to get out of bed even when you didn't want to, you were living life the way it should be lived, the way nature intended. In this sense, his comments on his morning routine lead to a much broader discussion about virtue, which in the Meditations is defined as the pursuit of qualities such as wisdom, courage, justice, and self-control.

Marcus Aurelius, it should be noted, defines virtue in the same way as Socrates in Plato's dialogues. This should not be so unexpected, since the emperor repeatedly expresses his admiration for the thinker.

“Alexander, Julius Caesar and Pompey? What are they compared to Diogenes, Heraclitus and Socrates?,” he writes in Meditations.

Like Socrates, Marcus Aurelius believes that evil is a form of ignorance and that an unwavering faith in reason can keep both at bay. Like Socrates, the emperor believes that the exercise of self-control leads to freedom and happiness.

Because bodily desires can never be satisfied forever, people should practice moderation and not excess. Marcus Aurelius returns to the Platonic dialogue: What is recorded of Socrates would exactly suit him: he might as well have restrained or relished what many are too weak to restrain. To be strong, to endure, and in both cases to be prudent belongs to a man with a perfect and invincible soul. This perfect and indestructible soul is the ultimate reward for those who lead virtuous lives, for it makes them invulnerable to pain, suffering, worry, and other such negative emotions that Stoic philosophy seeks to nullify. Provided you do your right work you should be indifferent whether you are cold or warm,

The emperor's indomitable spirit allowed him to endure hardships and overcome challenges that would have crushed less virtuous men. Accepting the indifference of nature and history, Rome's philosopher king held his own as he tossed from one military campaign to another, faced the betrayals of close friends, and processed the deaths of his loved ones.

As a result, he is not only remembered as a great emperor, but also as a good man./ Big Think


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