Marcus Aurelius, << aw REE lee uhs >> (A.D. 121-180), was a Roman emperor and philosopher. He became a follower of Stoicism, a school of philosophy that originated in Greece about 300 B.C. Marcus wrote a series of thoughts that were collected and published as Meditations. This work is an intimate self-portrait and a classic of Stoic philosophy. See Stoic philosophy.
Marcus was born in Rome to a noble family on April 26, A.D. 121. Before Antoninus Pius became emperor in 138, he adopted Marcus and Lucius Verus. When Marcus became emperor in 161, he asked the Senate to name Lucius co-emperor. Marcus and Lucius ruled jointly until Lucius’s death in 169. During much of Marcus’s reign, the Roman Empire suffered from epidemics, revolts, and frequent wars along its frontiers. Marcus turned to Stoic philosophy for personal comfort.
Marcus accepted the Stoic belief that the world is ruled by a benevolent universal force. He was inspired by the Stoic belief in the harmony of natural and moral law that represented the divine spirit present in all things. Marcus believed that the soul did not survive after death, but instead was reabsorbed into the universe. He saw this reabsorption as a reason to accept death calmly. Marcus hated selfishness and taught himself to ignore or forgive offenses. Perhaps his noblest quality was his sense of responsibility to humanity and his belief that all people are citizens of the universe and should live for each other. He died on March 17, 180.
