Plato said that, in an ideal society, the philosophers would be the kings, or the kings would be philosophers. Marcus Aurelius in some ways would seem to be exactly the kind of "philosopher emperor" Plato would have wanted. Please read the opening sections of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. Choose a line that particularly well shows one of the things Aurelius particularly values, and note whether this value would make him a good emperor or not.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations (Extra Credit)
Plato said that, in an ideal society, the philosophers would be the kings, or the kings would be philosophers. Marcus Aurelius in some ways would seem to be exactly the kind of "philosopher emperor" Plato would have wanted. Please read the opening sections of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. Choose a line that particularly well shows one of the things Aurelius particularly values, and note whether this value would make him a good emperor or not.
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"From Rusticus I received the impression that my character required improvement and discipline; and from him I learned not to be led astray to sophistic emulation, nor to writing on speculative matters, nor to delivering little hortatory orations, nor to showing myself off as a man who practises much discipline, or does benevolent acts in order to make a display."
I think that this shows that Marcus Aurelius was at least inteligent enough to realize that he possessed character flaws but he tried to fix them. I think that this would logically make Aurelius a good emperor. He would have been able to make himself a better person and it would have made him able to think clearly about any situations that arose while he was emperor.
From Fronto I learned to observe what envy and duplicity and hypocrisy are in a tyrant, and that generally those among us who are called Patricians are rather deficient in paternal affection.
I think that this helps Marcus Aurelius a good emperor becuase it shows that he believes an emperor can be flawed but that most of the flaws can be overted by being true to their word and by sticking to their decrees. That if an emperor can be just an true to his word, he can be a good emperor. That by avoiding things like hypocracy and envy, you can avoid being a tyrant.
"Do wrong to thyself, do wrong to thyself, my soul; but thou wilt no longer have the opportunity of honouring thyself. Every man’s life is sufficient. But thine is nearly finished, though thy soul reverences not itself, but places thy felicity in the souls of others."
I like this quote because it trys to argue that all life of man equal and no one's life is more important. In an age where the emperor or people that are closely associated with him, we hear this line which in a way denies any possible divinity of the emperor. The form that the arguement is that all life is equal is where they talk about life being sufficient and no one should hurt themself. Alex Mason
"From Catulus, not to be indifferent when a friend finds fault, even if he should find fault without reason, but to try to restore him to his usual disposition; and to be ready to speak well of teachers, as it is reported of Domitius and Athenodotus; and to love my children truly."
From this line I think the part about being ready to speak well of your teachers and to love your children would make Marcus a good ruler. Of course making sure you give credit to the ones who taught you is a good idea, but also making sure your children know you love them will help in them growing up into good people. This doesn't mean they will be a good ruler or anything, but the love you show your kids will show that you care for them and they will inturn love you back and not drift away from you in the years to come.
Eric Bengs
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