This is Alicia. I read book two of meditations and thought it was very incitful. I did find it a little hard to understand though. I thought it talked about alot of interesting things that usaully do not get thought about.This is a quote that I thought was interesting."Still remember that no man loses any other life than which he now lives,nor lives any other life than this which he now loses." I thought this quote was interesting because it is stating something rather simple and obvious and yet it is still something to think about. Since this is the only life man has the quote is saying that the person should live his life to its full potential because he will not get to live another one. It also pionts out that no man will lose any other life than the one he now lives. This shows that will will lose your life and it could be any time so to act like it is you last. In the book it talks about doing every thing like it is your last. Meditations had some contradicting things with Christianity. One of those things was that Marcus Aurelius believed in many gods not just one. Marcus Aurelius seems to have questions about life and the meaning of life. This is a difference between what Meditations is saying and what Christianty says. It seems that throughout the book it says you must live life well because you only have one of it but it does not really define exactly what live a good life is or what the purpose is. As this is somwhat shown in this quote, "Everything which belongs to the body id a stream, and what belongs to the soul is a dream and vapours, and life is a warfare and a strangers sojourn and after fame is oblivion." I think this qoute is kind of saying that life is fast and after it there is really nothing. Christions know that living a good life is living for God and the purpose of life is to glorify God. I think any one with out God is lost to the true meaning of life and will be all ways looking for answers. This I think is the difference between what the second book of Meditations I thought that Meditations says and what Christianity says. It was a very incitful book though over all.
Rachel After reading Book II I discovered Marcus Aurelius had some powerful points. Many of which were quite true and others that I do not think he himself understood. In the beginning he talks about time and to him things ripe, mature, and, close to its end are pleasant and attractive in its own way because of its has wisdom and intelligence. His topics, however, are not very clear and seem to slowly or suddenly change. He goes on to explain that many famous men, though wise and intelligent, still die. Making the point that no matter what you accomplish you will still die so do not waste your time on things that do not matter. Marcus then continues by saying that we are not to waste time worrying about others or their private lives. Instead our own lives are not to be shameful or lacking, but full of good purposes that will benefit others. Our lives should be so blameless that we can tell others all our thoughts and actions without any bitterness, malice, or hate in them. We should live in simplicity and decency. Marcus' thoughts were profound and full of contemplation. Many of the things he wrote about should be the same true and solid principles found in the lives of Christians. However, some of his thoughts are a little confusing and perhaps just a little weird. Such as "Make for thyself a definition or description of the thing which is presented to thee, so as to see distinctly what kind of a thing it is in its substance, in its nudity, in its complete entirety, and tell thyself its proper name, and the names of the things which it has been compounded, and into which it will be resolved. For nothing is so productive of elevation of mind as to be able to examine methodically and truly every object which is presented to thee in life, and always to look at things so as to see at the same time what kind of a universe this is..." I do not believe that he understands what in the world he's talking about Aside from a few other such quotes, many of his thoughts are similar to Biblical teaching. We are not to waste time on meaningless things, especially prodding into the business of others. Life is short so do not focus on what the world does. Our hearts and minds are not to be bitter, malicious, or full of hatred. As Christians we are to Love our neighbor as ourselves and lead blameless lives. Marcus' personal beliefs are far from Christianity, but a few of his meditations shows that even pagans understood that there are certain Christian principles that cannot be overlooked.
I found my reading of Book Twelve of The Meditations very interesting. Overall it seemed very similar to what I read about the second book. The topics in book twelve jumped around a lot. Some of the things Marcus talked about were living the life you were given, how everything happens for a reason, the importance of intelligence and knowledge, doing what is right, doing things for a purpose, and living life now. He also mentions many things to consider, such as, the shortness of life, the purpose of actions, pain, pleasure, death, and fame. Many of these things are still talked about or thought about today. At one point Marcus says, “I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others....So much more respect have we to what our neighbors shall think of us than to what we shall think of ourselves.” Here Marcus is contemplating why people love themselves but still focus on other people opinions. I found this quote particularly interesting because in todays world people focus a lot on what other people think of them or how they are viewed in society. Marcus doesn’t come back to this point at all but it is still an important thing to think about. In book twelve there were quite a few things that were said that are also said in the Bible. Being truthful and doing only what is right and true are talked about in The Meditations as well as the Bible. Marcus also says “Does the light of the lamp shine without losing its splendour until it is extinguished...?” This reminded me of Matthew 5 where Jesus talks about Christians being a light to the world and not hiding that light but letting it shine before others. Although these things are similar in both Christianity and in The Meditations there are few places where Marcus Aurelius is clearly wrong. At one point he says to be “obedient to thy own daemon (to the god that is within thee).” He is basically saying to follow whatever God you believe in. Later he says, “every man’s intelligence is a god.” Here he is putting knowledge and intelligence before the real God. As you can see, along with the truths there are also some non Christian principles mentioned in book twelve. Even though Marcus Aurelius got some things wrong, The Meditations are still very thought provoking books.
I read Book I. I was shocked in this book to find that it was just a list of the people in Marcus Aurelius's life that helped to form his worldview. He goes through by listing people such as his mother, his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather and many of his friends. Marcus seems to have a grasp on life that in many ways is Christian like. He thinks that he should love his children. That he should not to find faults in people. Love his kin, truth and justice. Be generous. and much more. It seem to me that his look on life was a good example of how a Christian should live. Then however it got kind of strange. He starts to talk about how you should never let a friend find fault in you and if they do prove them wrong. He also says that you should believe you are loved by friends, that studying rhetoric, poetry and fine writing is a poor waste of time, and that we should not show passion. While the ideas and morals of Marcus seem to be inline with the Biblical teachings he is missing the one important mark of life. Christ.
Also my favorite quote was "From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools, and to have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man should spend liberally." Homeschooling is the only way to go.
Marcus Aurelius was a pensive man and his writings were quite thoughtful and practical. His twelve book volume, “Meditations,” is a useful series and can be applied to many different occasions in our life, such as decision making. All of Marcus Aurelius’ writing struck me, but there was one quote that stood out of all the rest of his pondered statements. That quote was this: “Do not waste the remainder of thy life in thoughts about others, when thou dost not refer thy thoughts to some object of common utility. For thou losest the opportunity of doing something else when thou hast such thoughts as these, What is such a person doing, and why, and what is he saying, and what is he thinking of, and what is he contriving, and whatever else of the kind makes us wander away from the observation of our own ruling power.” Marcus Aurelius, in this quote, is making the point that we have to realize that thinking about other people’s personal lives can distract us and that we will waste our life doing that instead of doing something useful and being productive. We don’t need to know everything about every single person we know. Nor do we need think about them all the time. We must stay focused on what we were doing and complete it and not get sidetracked by something that we don’t need to be thinking about. We must be productive! This concept is a useful tool to help us complete our work whether in school, work, or ordinary life. Although Marcus Aurelius was a very thoughtful and brooding philosopher, he didn’t understand the truth. All his writings were sadly nothing about the one true God who was absolutely blocked out of Aurelius’ thoughts. If he became a Christian and learned about God, he would have realized that all his good advice couldn’t be put to use without the help of the one true and living God. Christianity truly is better than the faulty advice that Marcus Aurelius had to offer.
"Through not observing what is in the mind of another a man has seldom been seen to be unhappy; but those who do not observe the movements of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy." -Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations Book Two
"Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil." -Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations Book Two
"If a thing is difficult to be accomplished by thyself, do not think that it is impossible for man: but if anything is possible for man… think that this can be attained by thyself too." -Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations Book Six
What do each of these three quotes from Marcus Aurelius have in common? Each of these beliefs lack any dependency on God, and instead advocate dependency upon self. So although Marcus Aurelius had a very adept mind, he lacked insight on the correct motivation behind one's interactions with others and God. The first quote from book two portrays this worldview of reliance on self quite well. If someone doesn't "observe what is in the mind of another," how can anyone have empathy? In the Bible, Paul directly calls Christians to "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15). God created us to be his children, working as brothers and sisters to glorify him. In Marcus Aurelius' view it is much better to simply strive toward one's own peace of mind rather than looking to help others. Ultimately this is selfish; keeping all the happiness to yourself instead of spreading it by observing what is in other minds, sharing empathy and emotion. In this case, Marcus Aurelius' view is very different from the Christian perspective. The second quote from book two of the meditations is also a portrayer of a selfish attitude. By immediately discarding others as "busy-bodied, ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, and unsocial," Marcus Aurelius is vindicating the judgement of others, again directly contradicting the teachings of the New Testament. Jesus said "First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye," also calling perpetrators of this rule "hypocrites" (Matt. 7:5). Jesus preached the idea of having acceptance of others while accounting for your own ignorance and failure. Marcus supported the opposite, judging other people "beginning in the morning." The third quote concerns the issue of self-reliance vs. reliance on God. Marcus Aurelius said that "If a thing is difficult to be accomplished by thyself, do not think that it is impossible for man." He is saying that anything, no matter how difficult, is possible for man. What about walking on water without flotation aid (that was rhetorical)? But Jesus said "With God all things are possible." This is much more conceivable than Marcus Aurelius notion that man is somehow "all powerful." But God, who is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, created everything, and has no pounds to his power, could walk on water. This third belief of Marcus Aurelius is not as much of a contrary belief to Christianity as much as it is just plain wrong. Marcus Aurelius was a very insightful, wise man, but he did not believe in the creator of the universe. As a result, many of his writings do not conform the moral standards and beliefs which Jesus put in place, so his "Mediations" were much more self centered, instead of focusing on interactions with other people and the one true God.
My reading of book 1 was interesting. It was how all of these people influenced this one person and how it taught him many things. “In my father I observed mildness of temper, and unchangeable resolution in the things which he had determined after due deliberation; and no vainglory in those things which men call honours; and a love of labour and perseverance.” He seemed to see everyone for their good and point out all of the things that had and effect on him and what he saw. He seemed to be saying that the gods blessed him by giving him good influences.” To the gods I am indebted for having good grandfathers, good parents, a good sister, good teachers, good associates, good kinsmen and friends, nearly everything good.” He mentions his father many times and He shows that his father humbled him and was able to teach him that You could live in ad palace and still wear what you want not all of the fancy stuff. “That I was subjected to a ruler and a father who was able to take away all pride from me, and to bring me to the knowledge that it is possible for a man to live in a palace without wanting either guards or embroidered dresses, or torches and statues, and such-like show” I believe that he became wise through his fathers guidance and that He was able to apply all that his father taught him to his daily life. Another thing that I found interesting was how he mentioned schooling and I must say that I would agree to most of it. From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools, and to have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man should spend liberally. I found it interesting that he was sort of against Public schools and that he believed that it should be done at home. He goes on to talk about how when he did his studies as a child he didn’t engage much thought and how he regretted it. I did not make more proficiency in rhetoric, poetry, and the other studies, in which I should perhaps have been completely engaged. Thought that it was cool that he did recognize his faults and how he tried his best to point out others greatness.
This week I read Book II of the Meditations. Basically, this writing looks into Marcus Aurelius’s thoughts, hence being called the Meditations. It is very insightful and interesting the way he phrases certain aspects of this book. Each paragraph is different. No two of them are alike and each is about a separate subject. The style of his writing is like the phrase, “thinking out loud” with mixed up bits of information that he wrote down as he thought of them. One quote I noticed was, “Remember how long thou hast been putting off these things, and how often thou hast received an opportunity from the gods, and yet dost not use it.” I think this quote can be useful to almost everyone, even those who don’t believe in God or multiple gods. The principle of these words is like today’s saying, “Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today”. God gives us many opportunities in our lives and we should grab them when they arise. If given an opportunity and the time we should go for it. Christianity and Marcus Aurelius’s thoughts sometime differ but in other respects tend to agree. One section of the reading says, “Do the external which fall upon thyself distract thee? Give thyself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around”. This statement does agree with Christianity because God wants us to be in the world but not conformed to it. He doesn’t want us to be distracted by worldly things but to remember Christ in everything we do. In another part of Book II it states, “Every man’s life is sufficient”. Even though this phrase is short it says a lot. This disagrees with Christianity because every man, woman and child are sinners and there is no way we can earn anything with our own goodness. There is only one way to be saved which is to admit we are sinners and need Christ’s forgiveness. Regardless, even though this book doesn’t match up with Christianity, Marcus was a bold thinker and writer of his time.
Marcus wrote the twelve books during the last ten years of his reign as Roman emperor while traveling on the frontiers of the empire. These books were initially written in Greek and were not published until his death by a person who is unknown. The Greek title of his books, Ta eis heauton, translates into “notes to himself” but these twelve books are known collectively by their English title, Mediations. These books display and focus on many Stoic ideas, as well as some Platonic and Epicurean ideas as well, except for the first book. The Meditations are not arranged in any particular order.
I found Book One particularly interesting because it is a piece that could be summed up in one word, “gratitude.” Marcus lists out the people who have influenced him with their virtuous qualities--whether they are close friends, family members, tutors or others in his life--and thanks them personally for those character qualities that they modeled and he adopted as a man. One figure in the first book of his Meditations is his grandfather. He credits him with instilling many key qualities within him, such as gentleness and meekness, and the ability to refrain from acts of rage and pure passion. He thanks his father for instilling other qualities within him such as diligence, impartiality, care of his body, and financial responsibility.
One quote that I found particularly interesting from Book One of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations was this: “From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools, and to have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man should spend liberally.” In my opinion, Marcus is saying that men should value a good education above anything else and that they should be willing to spend a lot of money to allow their children to be privately taught by a tutor(s) at home rather than be subject to a mass education in a public school. Basically, he is saying that homeschooling is the best form of education.
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10 comments:
This is Alicia. I read book two of meditations and thought it was very incitful. I did find it a little hard to understand though. I thought it talked about alot of interesting things that usaully do not get thought about.This is a quote that I thought was interesting."Still remember that no man loses any other life than which he now lives,nor lives any other life than this which he now loses." I thought this quote was interesting because it is stating something rather simple and obvious and yet it is still something to think about. Since this is the only life man has the quote is saying that the person should live his life to its full potential because he will not get to live another one. It also pionts out that no man will lose any other life than the one he now lives. This shows that will will lose your life and it could be any time so to act like it is you last. In the book it talks about doing every thing like it is your last.
Meditations had some contradicting things with Christianity. One of those things was that Marcus Aurelius believed in many gods not just one. Marcus Aurelius seems to have questions about life and the meaning of life. This is a difference between what Meditations is saying and what Christianty says. It seems that throughout the book it says you must live life well because you only have one of it but it does not really define exactly what live a good life is or what the purpose is. As this is somwhat shown in this quote, "Everything which belongs to the body id a stream, and what belongs to the soul is a dream and vapours, and life is a warfare and a strangers sojourn and after fame is oblivion." I think this qoute is kind of saying that life is fast and after it there is really nothing. Christions know that living a good life is living for God and the purpose of life is to glorify God. I think any one with out God is lost to the true meaning of life and will be all ways looking for answers. This I think is the difference between what the second book of Meditations I thought that Meditations says and what Christianity says. It was a very incitful book though over all.
Rachel
After reading Book II I discovered Marcus Aurelius had some powerful points. Many of which were quite true and others that I do not think he himself understood. In the beginning he talks about time and to him things ripe, mature, and, close to its end are pleasant and attractive in its own way because of its has wisdom and intelligence. His topics, however, are not very clear and seem to slowly or suddenly change. He goes on to explain that many famous men, though wise and intelligent, still die. Making the point that no matter what you accomplish you will still die so do not waste your time on things that do not matter. Marcus then continues by saying that we are not to waste time worrying about others or their private lives. Instead our own lives are not to be shameful or lacking, but full of good purposes that will benefit others. Our lives should be so blameless that we can tell others all our thoughts and actions without any bitterness, malice, or hate in them. We should live in simplicity and decency.
Marcus' thoughts were profound and full of contemplation. Many of the things he wrote about should be the same true and solid principles found in the lives of Christians. However, some of his thoughts are a little confusing and perhaps just a little weird. Such as "Make for thyself a definition or description of the thing which is presented to thee, so as to see distinctly what kind of a thing it is in its substance, in its nudity, in its complete entirety, and tell thyself its proper name, and the names of the things which it has been compounded, and into which it will be resolved. For nothing is so productive of elevation of mind as to be able to examine methodically and truly every object which is presented to thee in life, and always to look at things so as to see at the same time what kind of a universe this is..." I do not believe that he understands what in the world he's talking about
Aside from a few other such quotes, many of his thoughts are similar to Biblical teaching. We are not to waste time on meaningless things, especially prodding into the business of others. Life is short so do not focus on what the world does. Our hearts and minds are not to be bitter, malicious, or full of hatred. As Christians we are to Love our neighbor as ourselves and lead blameless lives. Marcus' personal beliefs are far from Christianity, but a few of his meditations shows that even pagans understood that there are certain Christian principles that cannot be overlooked.
I found my reading of Book Twelve of The Meditations very interesting. Overall it seemed very similar to what I read about the second book. The topics in book twelve jumped around a lot. Some of the things Marcus talked about were living the life you were given, how everything happens for a reason, the importance of intelligence and knowledge, doing what is right, doing things for a purpose, and living life now. He also mentions many things to consider, such as, the shortness of life, the purpose of actions, pain, pleasure, death, and fame. Many of these things are still talked about or thought about today. At one point Marcus says, “I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others....So much more respect have we to what our neighbors shall think of us than to what we shall think of ourselves.” Here Marcus is contemplating why people love themselves but still focus on other people opinions. I found this quote particularly interesting because in todays world people focus a lot on what other people think of them or how they are viewed in society. Marcus doesn’t come back to this point at all but it is still an important thing to think about. In book twelve there were quite a few things that were said that are also said in the Bible. Being truthful and doing only what is right and true are talked about in The Meditations as well as the Bible. Marcus also says “Does the light of the lamp shine without losing its splendour until it is extinguished...?” This reminded me of Matthew 5 where Jesus talks about Christians being a light to the world and not hiding that light but letting it shine before others. Although these things are similar in both Christianity and in The Meditations there are few places where Marcus Aurelius is clearly wrong. At one point he says to be “obedient to thy own daemon (to the god that is within thee).” He is basically saying to follow whatever God you believe in. Later he says, “every man’s intelligence is a god.” Here he is putting knowledge and intelligence before the real God. As you can see, along with the truths there are also some non Christian principles mentioned in book twelve. Even though Marcus Aurelius got some things wrong, The Meditations are still very thought provoking books.
I read Book I. I was shocked in this book to find that it was just a list of the people in Marcus Aurelius's life that helped to form his worldview. He goes through by listing people such as his mother, his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather and many of his friends. Marcus seems to have a grasp on life that in many ways is Christian like. He thinks that he should love his children. That he should not to find faults in people. Love his kin, truth and justice. Be generous. and much more. It seem to me that his look on life was a good example of how a Christian should live. Then however it got kind of strange. He starts to talk about how you should never let a friend find fault in you and if they do prove them wrong. He also says that you should believe you are loved by friends, that studying rhetoric, poetry and fine writing is a poor waste of time, and that we should not show passion. While the ideas and morals of Marcus seem to be inline with the Biblical teachings he is missing the one important mark of life. Christ.
Also my favorite quote was "From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools, and to have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man should spend liberally." Homeschooling is the only way to go.
Marcus Aurelius was a pensive man and his writings were quite thoughtful and practical. His twelve book volume, “Meditations,” is a useful series and can be applied to many different occasions in our life, such as decision making. All of Marcus Aurelius’ writing struck me, but there was one quote that stood out of all the rest of his pondered statements. That quote was this:
“Do not waste the remainder of thy life in thoughts about others, when thou dost not refer thy thoughts to some object of common utility. For thou losest the opportunity of doing something else when thou hast such thoughts as these, What is such a person doing, and why, and what is he saying, and what is he thinking of, and what is he contriving, and whatever else of the kind makes us wander away from the observation of our own ruling power.”
Marcus Aurelius, in this quote, is making the point that we have to realize that thinking about other people’s personal lives can distract us and that we will waste our life doing that instead of doing something useful and being productive. We don’t need to know everything about every single person we know. Nor do we need think about them all the time. We must stay focused on what we were doing and complete it and not get sidetracked by something that we don’t need to be thinking about. We must be productive! This concept is a useful tool to help us complete our work whether in school, work, or ordinary life.
Although Marcus Aurelius was a very thoughtful and brooding philosopher, he didn’t understand the truth. All his writings were sadly nothing about the one true God who was absolutely blocked out of Aurelius’ thoughts. If he became a Christian and learned about God, he would have realized that all his good advice couldn’t be put to use without the help of the one true and living God. Christianity truly is better than the faulty advice that Marcus Aurelius had to offer.
"Through not observing what is in the mind of another a man has seldom been seen to be unhappy; but those who do not observe the movements of their own minds must of necessity be unhappy." -Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations Book Two
"Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil." -Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations Book Two
"If a thing is difficult to be accomplished by thyself, do not think that it is impossible for man: but if anything is possible for man… think that this can be attained by thyself too." -Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations Book Six
What do each of these three quotes from Marcus Aurelius have in common? Each of these beliefs lack any dependency on God, and instead advocate dependency upon self. So although Marcus Aurelius had a very adept mind, he lacked insight on the correct motivation behind one's interactions with others and God.
The first quote from book two portrays this worldview of reliance on self quite well. If someone doesn't "observe what is in the mind of another," how can anyone have empathy? In the Bible, Paul directly calls Christians to "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15). God created us to be his children, working as brothers and sisters to glorify him. In Marcus Aurelius' view it is much better to simply strive toward one's own peace of mind rather than looking to help others. Ultimately this is selfish; keeping all the happiness to yourself instead of spreading it by observing what is in other minds, sharing empathy and emotion. In this case, Marcus Aurelius' view is very different from the Christian perspective.
The second quote from book two of the meditations is also a portrayer of a selfish attitude. By immediately discarding others as "busy-bodied, ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, and unsocial," Marcus Aurelius is vindicating the judgement of others, again directly contradicting the teachings of the New Testament. Jesus said "First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye," also calling perpetrators of this rule "hypocrites" (Matt. 7:5). Jesus preached the idea of having acceptance of others while accounting for your own ignorance and failure. Marcus supported the opposite, judging other people "beginning in the morning."
The third quote concerns the issue of self-reliance vs. reliance on God. Marcus Aurelius said that "If a thing is difficult to be accomplished by thyself, do not think that it is impossible for man." He is saying that anything, no matter how difficult, is possible for man. What about walking on water without flotation aid (that was rhetorical)? But Jesus said "With God all things are possible." This is much more conceivable than Marcus Aurelius notion that man is somehow "all powerful." But God, who is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, created everything, and has no pounds to his power, could walk on water. This third belief of Marcus Aurelius is not as much of a contrary belief to Christianity as much as it is just plain wrong.
Marcus Aurelius was a very insightful, wise man, but he did not believe in the creator of the universe. As a result, many of his writings do not conform the moral standards and beliefs which Jesus put in place, so his "Mediations" were much more self centered, instead of focusing on interactions with other people and the one true God.
My reading of book 1 was interesting. It was how all of these people influenced this one person and how it taught him many things. “In my father I observed mildness of temper, and unchangeable resolution in the things which he had determined after due deliberation; and no vainglory in those things which men call honours; and a love of labour and perseverance.” He seemed to see everyone for their good and point out all of the things that had and effect on him and what he saw. He seemed to be saying that the gods blessed him by giving him good influences.” To the gods I am indebted for having good grandfathers, good parents, a good sister, good teachers, good associates, good kinsmen and friends, nearly everything good.” He mentions his father many times and He shows that his father humbled him and was able to teach him that You could live in ad palace and still wear what you want not all of the fancy stuff. “That I was subjected to a ruler and a father who was able to take away all pride from me, and to bring me to the knowledge that it is possible for a man to live in a palace without wanting either guards or embroidered dresses, or torches and statues, and such-like show” I believe that he became wise through his fathers guidance and that He was able to apply all that his father taught him to his daily life. Another thing that I found interesting was how he mentioned schooling and I must say that I would agree to most of it. From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools, and to have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man should spend liberally. I found it interesting that he was sort of against Public schools and that he believed that it should be done at home. He goes on to talk about how when he did his studies as a child he didn’t engage much thought and how he regretted it. I did not make more proficiency in rhetoric, poetry, and the other studies, in which I should perhaps have been completely engaged. Thought that it was cool that he did recognize his faults and how he tried his best to point out others greatness.
This week I read Book II of the Meditations. Basically, this writing looks into Marcus Aurelius’s thoughts, hence being called the Meditations. It is very insightful and interesting the way he phrases certain aspects of this book. Each paragraph is different. No two of them are alike and each is about a separate subject. The style of his writing is like the phrase, “thinking out loud” with mixed up bits of information that he wrote down as he thought of them. One quote I noticed was, “Remember how long thou hast been putting off these things, and how often thou hast received an opportunity from the gods, and yet dost not use it.” I think this quote can be useful to almost everyone, even those who don’t believe in God or multiple gods. The principle of these words is like today’s saying, “Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today”. God gives us many opportunities in our lives and we should grab them when they arise. If given an opportunity and the time we should go for it.
Christianity and Marcus Aurelius’s thoughts sometime differ but in other respects tend to agree. One section of the reading says, “Do the external which fall upon thyself distract thee? Give thyself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around”. This statement does agree with Christianity because God wants us to be in the world but not conformed to it. He doesn’t want us to be distracted by worldly things but to remember Christ in everything we do. In another part of Book II it states, “Every man’s life is sufficient”. Even though this phrase is short it says a lot. This disagrees with Christianity because every man, woman and child are sinners and there is no way we can earn anything with our own goodness. There is only one way to be saved which is to admit we are sinners and need Christ’s forgiveness. Regardless, even though this book doesn’t match up with Christianity, Marcus was a bold thinker and writer of his time.
Marcus wrote the twelve books during the last ten years of his reign as Roman emperor while traveling on the frontiers of the empire. These books were initially written in Greek and were not published until his death by a person who is unknown. The Greek title of his books, Ta eis heauton, translates into “notes to himself” but these twelve books are known collectively by their English title, Mediations. These books display and focus on many Stoic ideas, as well as some Platonic and Epicurean ideas as well, except for the first book. The Meditations are not arranged in any particular order.
I found Book One particularly interesting because it is a piece that could be summed up in one word, “gratitude.” Marcus lists out the people who have influenced him with their virtuous qualities--whether they are close friends, family members, tutors or others in his life--and thanks them personally for those character qualities that they modeled and he adopted as a man. One figure in the first book of his Meditations is his grandfather. He credits him with instilling many key qualities within him, such as gentleness and meekness, and the ability to refrain from acts of rage and pure passion. He thanks his father for instilling other qualities within him such as diligence, impartiality, care of his body, and financial responsibility.
One quote that I found particularly interesting from Book One of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations was this: “From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools, and to have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man should spend liberally.” In my opinion, Marcus is saying that men should value a good education above anything else and that they should be willing to spend a lot of money to allow their children to be privately taught by a tutor(s) at home rather than be subject to a mass education in a public school. Basically, he is saying that homeschooling is the best form of education.
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