History
The Emperor Who Wrote to Correct Himself: The Life of Marcus Aurelius
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One of the most powerful men on earth sat alone at night in a tent on the frozen Danube front, writing notes to himself: don't let power change you. The life of Marcus Aurelius, from the boy an emperor chose to plague, war, betrayal, his biggest mistake and the notebook that survived, told next to a young shift leader in a Phnom Penh garment factory.
Key takeaways
- Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire for 19 years (161–180) over tens of millions of people, yet his private notebook, written in Greek and titled 'To himself', is full of reminders to be patient, humble and kind.
- Offered all the power in Rome in 161, he refused to rule alone and made his adoptive brother Lucius Verus a full co-emperor, the first time Rome had two emperors at once.
- Facing plague and war, he sold palace treasures in the Forum of Trajan for two months rather than raise a new tax, according to an old Roman history.
- After the general Avidius Cassius rebelled in 175, Cassius Dio says Marcus burned the captured letters unread so he would not have to hate anyone.
- His biggest mistake: breaking with adoption, he made his son Commodus heir, and Dio wrote that history fell 'from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust'.
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Full video
34 min100coins≈ $1.00
Unlock for 100 coinsPay once. Yours to keep.
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Sources
Original from: Cypher original
Eusebius, Church History 5.1 (the martyrs of Lyon, 177)
Statue photo: Wilfredor, Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
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