From Book 2: How quickly all things disappear, in the universe the bodies themselves, but in time the remembrance of them; what is the nature of all sensible things, and particularly those which attract with the bait of pleasure or terrify by pain, or are noised abroad by vapoury fame; how worthless, and contemptible, and sordid, and perishable, and dead they are- all this it is the part of the intellectual faculty to observe. To observe too who these are whose opinions and voices give reputation; what death is, and the fact that, if a man looks at it in its ..read more

We’re getting a good ways into the weeds here with a discussion of Christianity’s spread, but since Marcus was Emperor during a critical period — and because he’s beloved by a long and vigorous monastic tradition — it’s worth spending a little more time on. Here’s new commenter dinothedoxie: Another explanation is that Christianity is a religion for losers. (As Ted Turner infamously said, and he was correct. In fact most Christians would admit it – perhaps with the twist that everyone estranged from god is a loser)… Then factor in that Christianity is a good religion from the powerful / ruler ..read more

Further to the discussion below: Any naturalistic explanation — that is to say, any historical explanation — of Christianity’s wildfire spread across Late Antiquity has to account for the… Well, wait. Let’s back up. Since this post (like the blog in general) is aimed at the younger folks — circa college age — we need some definitions. Despite what you’ve seen in the classroom your entire lives, the discipline of History isn’t really about finding some micro-grievance somewhere in the past, in order to fanservice your teachers’ socio-sexual hangups. Though History is most definitely not a scien ..read more

From book 2: Theophrastus, in his comparison of bad acts- such a comparison as one would make in accordance with the common notions of mankind- says, like a true philosopher, that the offences which are committed through desire are more blameable than those which are committed through anger. For he who is excited by anger seems to turn away from reason with a certain pain and unconscious contraction; but he who offends through desire, being overpowered by pleasure, seems to be in a manner more intemperate and more womanish in his offences. Rightly then, and ..read more

From book 2: All that is from the gods is full of Providence. That which is from fortune is not separated from nature or without an interweaving and involution with the things which are ordered by Providence. From thence all things flow; and there is besides necessity, and that which is for the advantage of the whole universe, of which thou art a part. But that is good for every part of nature which the nature of the whole brings, and what serves to maintain this nature. Now the universe is preserved, as by the changes of the elements so by the changes of th ..read more

Book One, the “thank yous,” contains a valuable picture of the kind of man Marcus would like to be, and that we should aspire to. Like this: In my father I observed mildness of temper, and unchangeable resolution in the things which he had determined after due deliberation; and no vainglory in those things which men call honours; and a love of labour and perseverance; and a readiness to listen to those who had anything to propose for the common weal; and undeviating firmness in giving to every man according to his deserts; and a knowledge derived from experience of th ..read more

In the below, Pickle Rick writes: It’s really a measure of scale. These systems of government, whether the Greek polis or the Roman res publica were developed for the city-state, or maybe at largest a league or confederation like the Delian League. The systems broke down as Rome stretches its power beyond Latinium. Our own experience with a confederation, then a republic shows the same strains as a system developed for a country of 3.9 million and the East Coast now creaks along in a continent with 329 million “citizens”. The old Roman formulation of Senātus Populusque Rōmānus couldn’t have a ..read more

Continuing the discussion of “equal rights,” Deacon Blues argues: Perhaps the Stoics plead for equal treatment of all under the law so that those who are capable of rational thought and learning philosophy are able to do so. Those who are not are likely not harmed by being treated as if they could. This raises two interrelated points: The possibility of understanding, and the possibility of harm. One of the biggest problems with ancient philosophy is their seeming obliviousness to what we’d probably call “cultural relativism.” I know, I know, that particular topic is one of the pillars of th ..read more

Continuing the discussion from below, there’s another possibility: Maybe Marcus really does mean “equal rights for all.” It’s a very modern-sounding notion; it would’ve been radical indeed in the ancient world. But then again, Stoicism was in many ways a radical creed. Ancient thinkers had a very HBD-ish view of life. When someone like Aristotle talks about “man” as “the rational animal,” he most definitely does NOT mean that all human beings are always rational. Even we Postmoderns, who have had critical thinking beaten out of us by 16+ years of “education,” can see that’s ludicrous. Even the ..read more

Returning to Book One, we find a striking passage: From my brother Severus, to love my kin, and to love truth, and to love justice… and from him I received the idea of a polity in which there is the same law for all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed; All this from a Roman Emperor? Here’s where context becomes crucial, if we’re to avoid concluding that Marcus was the grossest of hypocrites.1 We can’t let him off the hook by claiming that ..read more