What is the good life according to Marcus Aurelius?
For Marcus, a good life is one that’s lived in accordance with Nature. With this worldview in mind, he believed that we mainly needed two virtues to live a good life: justice and piety.
What does Marcus Aurelius say about happiness?
Your own happiness is up to you. Life’s happiness, Aurelius said, “depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” The crux of his philosophy is the notion that while we cannot control what happens to us, we can control our reactions to the events of our lives — and this gives us immense strength and freedom.
What did Marcus Aurelius believe in?
He was born into a wealthy and politically prominent family. Growing up, Marcus Aurelius was a dedicated student, learning Latin and Greek. But his greatest intellectual interest was Stoicism, a philosophy that emphasized fate, reason, and self-restraint.
Did Aurelius believe in God?
I agree. It seems clear that Marcus Aurelius believed in god(s). It is possible to rationalize some of his generic references to them as not necessarily reflecting faith, but rather a generic piety.
What did Marcus Aurelius say about life?
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love… Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.
What did Marcus Aurelius say?
“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together,but do so with all your heart.” “The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.” “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” “Never let the future disturb you.
What did Marcus Aurelius do to the Christians?
It is therefore not uncommon to hear the charges that Marcus Aurelius was a persecutor of the Christians; that he deliberately issued anti-Christian edicts; that the persecution under this Emperor was the first that deserved the name of persecution; that the persecutions during his rule had his sanction at least.
Did Marcus Aurelius pray?
The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, in his philosophical reflections, described how Stoics might pray as a form of self-improvement. Ironically, rather than praying for rain, in general, a Stoic should pray for strength of character and to neither crave the rain nor be afraid of the drought.
Who came after Commodus?
Pertinax
Commodus was succeeded by Pertinax, whose reign was short-lived; he would become the first claimant to be usurped during the Year of the Five Emperors. In 195, the emperor Septimius Severus, trying to gain favour with the family of Marcus Aurelius, rehabilitated Commodus’ memory and had the Senate deify him.