Marcus Aurelius: Stoicism And The Modern Military
Marcus Aurelius: Stoicism and the Modern Military
In the long history of the United States, hundreds of men and women have forever altered the military with their legacies, ideas, and values. In this paper, I will discuss the life and legacy of the famed Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. His musings have come to define the essence of the ideal military leader and how such individuals can live peacefully while in the heart of war. With his large contributions to Stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius has significantly impacted the military of today.
Marcus Aurelius was born into a prominent family in Rome, Italy on April 26, 121 CE (Biography, 2014). As a young boy, Marcus focused most of his time on learning a variety of disciplines and languages. …show more content…
His favorite topic however, was the philosophy of Stoicism which emphasized “fate, reason, and self-restraint” (Biography, 2014). As he came into adulthood, Marcus worked as the head of the senate, continued his studies in philosophy and law, and married the emperor’s daughter (Biography, 2014). After the death of his adopted father, Emperor Pius Antonius, Marcus became the Roman Emperor in 161 and decided to make his brother, Verus, his co-ruler (Biography, 2014). While their father’s rule had been a time of prosperity, when Marcus and Verus took power, war and disease swept the empire (Biography, 2014). Unfortunately, for the majority of the 160s, the Roman Empire fought the Parthian empire to the east. Verus oversaw the war, while Marcus managed the home front in Rome. While that campaign eventually came to a close, Verus died in 169 CE, just before the Germanic tribes began attacking the Roman Empire.
Marcus Aurelius’ greatest legacy was created during this time of struggle from 170 to 175. Although it was never meant to be published, Marcus Aurelius maintained a personal notebook covering his thoughts and feelings during the campaign. The resulting book, Meditations, is now a famous and influential piece of Stoic philosophical literature. In total, Meditations is divided into 12 smaller books with each focusing on specific aspects of life, war, and humanity (Messerly, 2016). Despite his lack of style and flair, Meditations would become Marcus Aurelius’ greatest legacy and inadvertently serve as a foundation for numerous military leaders.
The first known copy of Meditations was mentioned in 364 by Themistius (Sellars, 2015).
From there, the piece went to the Vatican before becoming a well-known book throughout Europe (Sellars, 2015). Thomas Jefferson even mentioned the book in his recommended reading list in the 1800’s (Anderberg, 2014). In an interview with Foreign Policy, General James Mattis explains how the writings of Marcus Aurelius taught him about human nature and how to “keep [his] peace” during the tribulations of war (Ricks, 2017). This comes as no surprise since the fundamental idea of Stoicism is to “move beyond grieving and keep fighting; it is to stare death down in a death filled place” (Sherman, 2010). The ideas of Stoicism present in Meditations are perfect for alleviating the suffering and chaos caused by …show more content…
war.
Meditations has served as a pivotal philosophical source for the military, even to this day. While most soldiers may not realize it, many of their values and philosophies come from the teachings of Marcus Aurelius and his fellow Stoics. “Embrace the suck” is the quintessential military phrase and it would not be here without the famed military philosopher and his clever insights. His thoughts and musings have helped forge the military that we know today and continue to define this organization as it moves forward. References
Anderberg, J.
(2014, October 8). The Libraries of Famous Men: Thomas Jefferson’s Recommended Reading. Retrieved from http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/10/08/the-libraries-of-famous-men-thomas-jeffersons-recommended-reading/
Biography.com Editors (2014, April 2). Marcus Aurelius Biography.com. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/marcus-aurelius-9192657
Messerly, J. (2016, January 19). Marcus Aurelius: A Brief Summary of The Meditations. Retrieved from http://reasonandmeaning.com/2015/03/06/marcus-aurelius-a-brief-summary-of-the-meditations/
Sellars, J. (2015, January 1). Marcus Aurelius. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/marcus/
Sherman, N. (2010, May 10). A Crack in the Stoic’s Armor. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/a-crack-in-the-stoic-armor/?mcubz=3
Ricks, T. (2017, March 28). Book Excerpt: Defense Secretary Mattis discusses his favorite books, and why. Retrieved from
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/28/book-excerpt-defense-secretary-mattis-discusses-his-favorite-books-and-why/
In the long history of the United States, hundreds of men and women have forever altered the military with their legacies, ideas, and values. In this paper, I will discuss the life and legacy of the famed Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. His musings have come to define the essence of the ideal military leader and how such individuals can live peacefully while in the heart of war. With his large contributions to Stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius has significantly impacted the military of today.
Marcus Aurelius was born into a prominent family in Rome, Italy on April 26, 121 CE (Biography, 2014). As a young boy, Marcus focused most of his time on learning a variety of disciplines and languages. …show more content…
His favorite topic however, was the philosophy of Stoicism which emphasized “fate, reason, and self-restraint” (Biography, 2014). As he came into adulthood, Marcus worked as the head of the senate, continued his studies in philosophy and law, and married the emperor’s daughter (Biography, 2014). After the death of his adopted father, Emperor Pius Antonius, Marcus became the Roman Emperor in 161 and decided to make his brother, Verus, his co-ruler (Biography, 2014). While their father’s rule had been a time of prosperity, when Marcus and Verus took power, war and disease swept the empire (Biography, 2014). Unfortunately, for the majority of the 160s, the Roman Empire fought the Parthian empire to the east. Verus oversaw the war, while Marcus managed the home front in Rome. While that campaign eventually came to a close, Verus died in 169 CE, just before the Germanic tribes began attacking the Roman Empire.
Marcus Aurelius’ greatest legacy was created during this time of struggle from 170 to 175. Although it was never meant to be published, Marcus Aurelius maintained a personal notebook covering his thoughts and feelings during the campaign. The resulting book, Meditations, is now a famous and influential piece of Stoic philosophical literature. In total, Meditations is divided into 12 smaller books with each focusing on specific aspects of life, war, and humanity (Messerly, 2016). Despite his lack of style and flair, Meditations would become Marcus Aurelius’ greatest legacy and inadvertently serve as a foundation for numerous military leaders.
The first known copy of Meditations was mentioned in 364 by Themistius (Sellars, 2015).
From there, the piece went to the Vatican before becoming a well-known book throughout Europe (Sellars, 2015). Thomas Jefferson even mentioned the book in his recommended reading list in the 1800’s (Anderberg, 2014). In an interview with Foreign Policy, General James Mattis explains how the writings of Marcus Aurelius taught him about human nature and how to “keep [his] peace” during the tribulations of war (Ricks, 2017). This comes as no surprise since the fundamental idea of Stoicism is to “move beyond grieving and keep fighting; it is to stare death down in a death filled place” (Sherman, 2010). The ideas of Stoicism present in Meditations are perfect for alleviating the suffering and chaos caused by …show more content…
war.
Meditations has served as a pivotal philosophical source for the military, even to this day. While most soldiers may not realize it, many of their values and philosophies come from the teachings of Marcus Aurelius and his fellow Stoics. “Embrace the suck” is the quintessential military phrase and it would not be here without the famed military philosopher and his clever insights. His thoughts and musings have helped forge the military that we know today and continue to define this organization as it moves forward. References
Anderberg, J.
(2014, October 8). The Libraries of Famous Men: Thomas Jefferson’s Recommended Reading. Retrieved from http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/10/08/the-libraries-of-famous-men-thomas-jeffersons-recommended-reading/
Biography.com Editors (2014, April 2). Marcus Aurelius Biography.com. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/marcus-aurelius-9192657
Messerly, J. (2016, January 19). Marcus Aurelius: A Brief Summary of The Meditations. Retrieved from http://reasonandmeaning.com/2015/03/06/marcus-aurelius-a-brief-summary-of-the-meditations/
Sellars, J. (2015, January 1). Marcus Aurelius. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/marcus/
Sherman, N. (2010, May 10). A Crack in the Stoic’s Armor. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/a-crack-in-the-stoic-armor/?mcubz=3
Ricks, T. (2017, March 28). Book Excerpt: Defense Secretary Mattis discusses his favorite books, and why. Retrieved from
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/28/book-excerpt-defense-secretary-mattis-discusses-his-favorite-books-and-why/