Marcus Aurelius

1. Marcus Aurelius

2. Zeno (336-264 B.C.E.) • A man named Zeno, who was born on Cyprus about 336 and died in Athens about 264, founded the Stoic philosophy.

3. Wisdom and Virtue • Wisdom and virtue rest in accepting the facts about our lives and cooperating with the process. We can’t change the direction of our life, but we can change our attitude.

4. Stoic Ethics • Stoic ethics culminates, then, in loving our neighbors as ourselves, and in realizing that all people, even slaves and enemies, are our neighbors.

5. Marcus Aurelius the Emperor • Marcus Aurelius lived from 121 to 180 C.E. and was emperor for the last 19 years of his life.

6. Dominion • “But to Marcus Aurelius, power means more than dominion over nations and peoples. It means, first and foremost, dominion over oneself.”

7. What Would It Be Like? • What would it be like today to have leaders who thought the inner life was as important as the outer life and who, in fact, recognized that one’s inner life influenced one’s outer life in very direct ways?

8. Forgetting • “And how does a man become reunited with God, the Mind of the universe? By reversing the process by which he has cut himself off through forgetting what he is.”

9. Examine Yourself • “To what use am I now putting the powers of my soul? Examine yourself on this point at every step, and ask, ‘How stands it with that part of me which is called the ruling part? What kind of soul inhabits me at this moment?’”

10. Life is Like a Play • Life is like a play, and your job is not to complain about your part, but to play it well.