Nickhil Singh
Title: Marcus Aurelius
When you read Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 121-180), you are not reading the works of some inactive philosopher, but the writings of a past Roman leader! In particular, this makes Aurelius's perspective distinctly different from other philosophers because his works come from first hand knowledge of the world. Perhaps Aurelius's pearls of wisdom contain a greater sense of truth than other works because of this first hand knowledge.
Aside from this point, we can conclude from this book that Aurelius was a bit of a pacifist despite what his Roman pedigree would lead you to believe. Aurelius is the founder of stoicism, a school of thought which preaches that the search for peace will allow one to deal with a chaotic world. Specifically, by aligning one's self with the way of nature, one can achieve serenity. The easiest way to do this is by detaching oneself from anything beyond one's control and instead focusing on one's own life.
Aurelius's stoicism is quite evident in his writings. A classic example of this comes in book V of Meditations, when Aurelius says,
In he morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present- I am rising to the work of a human being. Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for which I exist and for which I was brought into the world? Or have I been made for this, to lie in the bed-clothes and keep myself warm?- But this is more pleasant.- Dost thou exist then to take thy pleasure, and not at all for action or exertion? Dost thou not see the little plants, the little birds, the ants, the spiders, the bees working together to put in order their several parts of the universe? And art thou unwilling to do the work of a human being, and dost thou not make haste to do that which is according to thy nature?- But it is necessary to take rest also.- It is necessary: however nature has fixed bounds to this too: she has fixed bounds both to eating and drinking, and yet thou goest beyond these bounds, beyond what is sufficient; yet in thy acts it is not so, but thou stoppest short of what thou canst do. So thou lovest not thyself, for if thou didst, thou wouldst love thy nature and her will. But those who love their several arts exhaust themselves in working at them unwashed and without food; but thou valuest thy own own nature less than the turner values the turning art, or the dancer the dancing art, or the lover of money values his money, or the vainglorious man his little glory. And such men, when they have a violent affection to a thing, choose neither to eat nor to sleep rather than to perfect the things which they care for. But are the acts which concern society more vile in thy eyes and less worthy of thy labour?
Not surprisingly, Aurelius mentions the importance of nature in the preceding paragraph. More importantly, Aurelius posits that man's nature must be followed in order to truly be happy and change the natural view of ourself. We know that this statement is true because Aurelius gains our trust at the beginning of the paragraph. To establish the connection between nature and happiness, he describes man's common predilection to stay in bed and sleep a little longer. To then change our perspective, Aurelius asks the question, "Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for which I exist and for which I was brought into the world?" With this paradigm shift in perspective, Aurelius captures our attention because he brings into question our own beliefs and lifestyle. At the same time, he does this in a non-aggresive way, which allows a reader to enjoy his work even if this person does not agree with him.
Also, Aurelius raises another point about stoicism: responsiblity to the whole of society. According to Aurelius, man has a duty to respect everything in nature; this is the only way he can be in unision with those things around him and therefore live a happy life. By not getting out of bed, man refuses to acknowledge a responsibility to help society. So, only a proactive approach to the subject allows man to be at peace.
On a somewhat related note, Aurelius's own stoicism is evident in his use of rhetoric. Notice how he does not always state philosophical opinion as if it were fact (like most philosophers do). Instead, Aurelius takes a softer, more gentle approach to his argument. I would say that the majority of Aurelius's argument relies on this form of ethos to persuade the reader. I personally enjoy reading this style of writing.
No matter what you think of Aurelius's idea, it is hard to dispute that his writings contain a certain aesthetic appeal to it. To truly understand this aesthetic appeal, you will have to read the book yourself!!!
Before I end this little review, I would also like to state one of my favorite quotes from his book. As he says in Book VI, "Look within. Let neither the peculiar quality of anything nor its value escape you."
I, too, implore you to do the same.
Want to reach me? E-mail me at nickhil@nickhil.com
