Marcus Aurelius

Even today, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is read by every class from kings to common people. The book is a universal classic, meaning it can be related to at any time, by anyone. The philosophies included in his book have spanned the centuries, and Meditations remains to be one of the most influential books ever written. Marcus Aurelius was born on April 20, 121 AD into a family of royalty. His uncle and adoptive father, Antoninus Pius, was the emperor of Rome. Aurelius, too, was trained from birth to be a great ruler like his father. At age eleven, he dedicated himself to religion, although he considered philosophy to be the "true, inward" religion, one which did not require ceremonies necessary in others. Throughout his childhood and early adulthood, Aurelius was taught by several talented teachers. When he was young, the great Epictetus tutored him, followed by a man named Q. Junius Rusticus, who would accompany Aurelius throughout much of his life. In 161 AD, Pius died, leaving Aurelius and Pius’s other adopted son, known as Verus, to rule together. The two brothers were quite different, although no disagreements are mentioned between the two. Verus was a headstrong man, who was more apt to want a war than the contemplative Aurelius. Verus was an "Epicurean" and definitely would never be called a philosopher. However, Verus died suddenly in 169, leaving Aurelius to rule Rome on his own. It is important to mention that during basically all of Aurelius’ rule, Rome was engaged in a long series of defensive wars. In fact, the book Meditations was written during these wars, possibly during the darkest of conditions. And even though these wars were successful, they were taxing both on Rome as a state, and on Aurelius himself. However, he somehow managed to stay somewhat unaffected throughout, an amazing feat unto itself. Although Aurelius was considered a great man and emperor, he ruthlessly persecuted the Christians. He