Online: Select and read one book (out of twelve) from Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations.”
Prepare: Write an informal essay, 75-250 words, that reflects on your overall impression of the section of the “Meditations” that you read. Your essay should also include one saying or quote from the text that you examine in more detail. Your essay should conclude by comparing and contrasting Marcus Aurelius’ thoughts with Christianity.
Please post this essay on the blog.
23 comments:
I thought this was for next week...is it early or an addition?
This is early, sorry!
No problem, just wanted to make sure.
Meditation #8
This meditation is quite saddening for me. Marcus Aurelius takes a "zoomed-out" look at this world; he attempts to make others contemplate deeply about their friendships, their deeds, and their purpose in life. Like an en-caged loris in Uzbekistan, dreaming of crouching on the end of a fokiena tree-branch while soaking up the free air of Laos, injects his captor with deadly venom in order to escape back to his tropical habitat: so Marcus Aurelius commits every action with a final purpose in mind. He is very focused on the cleansing of one's soul from unwholesome actions. Probably one of the biggest problems I can see with Marcus is that he acts as if he had lived a wholesome life. Am I supposed to believe, "...for I have never intentionally given pain even to another," while this Roman king fought multiple wars in the East as well as Germania?
On a different note, Marcus really needed the gospel because he believed that whatever occurred in his life was under the control of the gods. Also, I would have loved to have a two-hour conversation with him about why he believed that everything has a purpose, because he didn't know what that purpose was/still is. I feel like much good fruit would come out of a conversation like that. My message for Mr. Parker from Marcus Aurelius is the following: "...nor in life be so busy as to have no leisure." So, basically, we should have a 15-year vacation from Greenhouse!
(AGH! I am at 250 words. Why didn't you make the requirements longer? I could go on for...a few more sentences)
Liana Muzik
Meditation 1 response:
My opinion of Marcus Aurelius’s upright character hangs in the balance, and a slight breeze of truth could tip it into condemnation or wonder. The first impression I had of his first section in “Meditations” was wonder that such a man—a man surrounded by power and corruption—could be so humble and seemingly perfect as he painted himself to be. Marcus Aurelius did not credit his character because of himself, but of those those around him: his friends and family. However, he at one point wrote, “I never did anything of which I had occasion to repent.” This caused me to wonder at four things: if he was attempting to encourage the reader to follow his actions, if he was attesting to the enormity of people’s influence in his life, if he was boasting in his character’s perfection, or if he was doing all three at once. The overall tone of the letter suggests against his pride. However, the hyperbole was too stark to be unnoticed. Although some of his ethics were not fully according to God’s standards, the majority of Marcus Aurelius’s boasts in his character aligned with Christianity’s morals. Ideals such as abstinence from evil thoughts, endurance, and refrain from envy permeated Marcus Aurelius’s writing. It goes to show that, although people may refuse God being the source of truth, the truth and good still remain the same.
Meditation 1
The main reason why I liked this book (Book 1) and the impression that I take away from reading it is that his style of learning is the same way I look to learn. Talking to people and learning from there own life style and in most cases from there more years here. This way of learning does not just fill your mind with knowledge, but it also helps your speaking abilities. After talking to lots of people it makes it more easy to A) talk to even more people and B) lets you meat some really cool people. I personally love this way of learning. It also would seem to that Marcus Aurelius’ would have no problem going up to some random person on the street and striking up a conversation.
While reading the twelfth meditation by Marcus Aurelius, one quote really struck me: “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.” Marcus Aurelius ponders the fact that even though man is prideful, he values other people’s opinions more than his own. I really like this quote because it still applies to society today. Many people value themselves above all else, yet they still set so much stock in the opinions of other people. Aurelius seems to believe in some sort of “Providence,” but also mentions in his meditations that there are gods, or just one God. This goes against the Christian belief that there is only God, and he predestines our lives.
Meditation 2 basically describes how, in Marcus Aurelius’ opinion, to live life to the fullest. This includes being prepared to face people (“Begin… by saying to thyself, I shall meet… the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial”), clearing your mind of worthless knowledge (“But cast away the thirst after books”), accepting everything Providence gives you, because Providence is from the gods (“All that is from the gods is full of Providence”), and living in accordance with nature, for “nothing is evil which is according to nature.” One quote that really shocked me was at the end of the Meditation, when Marcus writes, “What then is that which is able to conduct a man? One thing and only one, philosophy.” What a stifling worldview! It seems to me that living life to the fullest, in Marcus’ opinion, is actually extremely restricting. According to the other quote I mentioned, if all knowledge other than philosophy should be cast away (“…cast away the thirst after books”), life would be dull and void. I can’t imagine what he thinks about creativity. The quote I want to compare with the Christian worldview is this: “nothing is evil which is according to nature.” The Bible teaches that, since the Fall, the world is inherently evil. We can make no claims that anything on this earth is not evil if we live according to it. And yet Marcus does.
In reading Meditations Book Two I found many of his thoughts still useful today. This meditation seems to focus a lot on preparing the mind for death and not being fearful of it. A quote I found interesting was “And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last, laying aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and self-love, …” This quote means that a man will be happiest if he lives each moment as if it was his last. Also laying aside carelessness and replacing it with reason you will be happiest. As a stoic, Marcus was always trying to achieve inner peace and happiness. This unfortunately he could never really achieve because we are human beings that need a Savior. As Christians though, we are to live our lives as each moment is our last, because we truly don't know when we will be called home. A similarity to Christianity I saw was when he was talking about how it is “contrary to nature” to act against one another. Before the Fall the whole world was in unity with each other it is how God wanted us to live and that is when we will be happy. Through this Meditation I see Marcus Aurelius searching for a way to find happiness and peace. Little did he know that what he really needed to seek to fulfill this longing was Christ.
In Book III of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, he brings up this idea of time and relates it to life and death. I rather enjoyed reading this, as I have struggled (and continue to do so) with making a good use of my time. Marcus seems to have a great amount of general wisdom in the matters of life, and although he isn’t necessarily Christian, his ideas are worth contemplating. There is a quote from this book that really seems to summarize the way of thinking at the time: “Short then is the time which every man lives, and small the nook of the earth where he lives; and short too the longest posthumous fame, and even this only continued by a succession of poor human beings, who will very soon die, and who know not even themselves, much less him who died long ago.” I find this quote to be very telling of their mindset, and this is where the similarities between the Greeks and Romans are striking. I feel like both cultures have this desire to stand out and be remembered, as demonstrated by the Greek idea of ‘kleos’ (meaning ‘glory’). While they are striving to be recognized out of the masses and find this ultimate glory, Christians are being sought out by God. I recently heard a thought-provoking sermon at church where the preacher revealed that God is seeking us more than we are seeking Him. I think the Romans were so ready to be told that God desired them and that they didn’t have to prove themselves to Him. Regarding Marcus Aurelius’ thoughts versus Christianity, he puts a great emphasis on leading a good life where you enjoy the little things, have a good attitude, make rational decisions, and appreciate life, but he only scrapes the surface when it comes to divine things. He does mention that there is a bond between divinities and humans, but the divine part of life seems a lot more detached from humans that Christians view Our Lord and Jesus Christ. They are the leading the way for us, but for them, the divine nature in life seems to be a footnote that comes at the bottom for further reading.
Where do we find the Marcus Aurelius biography?
Meredith Ristine
Meditation 2
Meditation book two begins with Marcus Aurelius meditating on how a person can best live their lives, in hopes that we do not look back and have regrets. He says that we are to look towards the future and not focusing on what we have done in the past. Later Aurelius goes on writing about wrong deeds done through anger as a response to pain or pleasure. Some of Aurelius’ ideas were quite fascinating, but do not line up with Christian views. Here is an example, “Rightly then, and in a way worthy of philosophy, he said that the offense which is committed with pleasure is more blamable than that which is committed with pain; and on the whole the one is more like a person who has been first wronged and though pain is compelled to be angry; but the other is moved by his own impulse to do wrong, being carried towards doing something by desire.” In this quote Aurelius is saying even though both crimes were done out of anger, the one that was a response to pain should not be so harshly dealt with. Yes this is a good thought but there is no excuse for wrong deeds no matter what spurs you into committing them. We as Christians are called to be forgiving rather than return pain with anger. But according to Aurelius those who commit wrong out of anger have excuse for acting in such a way.
Meditation 12 by Marcus Aurelius discusses the concept of viewing everything in its proper light. He talks about how we must keep in mind the three things that compose life, namely body, life, and intelligence. He explains that intelligence is the only one of these three things that the gods concern themselves with. He also says something very interesting: “Consider that before long thou wilt be nobody and nowhere, nor will any of the things exist which thou now seest, nor any of those who are now living.” This bears some similarities to the book of Ecclesiastes, which often mentions that in the end, the same fate awaits all men, and all of the things we built our lives around and will perish with us, and after death, few will remember what we tried to accomplish in our lives. But unlike the Bible, this meditation greatly oversimplifies human pain, arguing that we should not be bothered by it if we understand that it is part of the natural way things work. Aurelius believes that evil is a fact of life, and that bad people do bad things, which is altogether natural, because otherwise there could be no good and evil. I believe that this line of reasoning is fundamentally flawed, because very few people could accomplish the ruthless logic that Marcus Aurelius’ stoic philosophies demand. Besides, understanding the natural order of the world does not necessarily enable a person to be able to tolerate the evil that “naturally” exists.
Book two of Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations" focuses on what it means to live a good life. In order to be happy, one must realize that there are sinful, dishonest, and rude people that you will encounter everyday. However, Aurelius continues to say that these character flaws are merely from a lack of knowledge between good and evil rather than a flawed nature. Therefore, if everyone if descended from the same deity, with the same nature, it is impossible to judge your neighbor. The body is temporary. Merely a pile of flesh and bones. However, your mind is your greatest tool and the only thing that can feed that mind with philosophy and wisdom. For a good roman must try his hardest to live and upright life and earn points with the deities and encourage his fellow citizen to do that same. Aurelius says in his last paragraph,"What then is that which is able to conduct a man? One thing and only one, philosophy." According to Aurelius, philosophy and study are the only things that can improve the human mind to rise above the temptations in this world such as greed, vanity, and ignorance. What else is there to put our hope in other than philosophy? Aurelius brings up interesting points in this meditation in comparison to Christianity. In one section where he is talking about deities, he says that if there was no gods, life would be utterly pointless. This is true however the Romans still did not believe in the one true God the only one who allows us to grow in faith and morality through him and not through philosophy alone. If Marcus Aurelius was a Christian, he would have realized that God is the only true source of wisdom and that the nature of man and his ideas are often corrupted and evil. Without God, there is no philosophy, there is no morality, there is no point to living. For he is the basis from which all things come from. Philosophy is merely a tool not a necessity for the growing of the human mind. God alone is truly the only one who change the nature of a man.
Found it.
In the third book of Marcus Aurelius’ meditations, the author considers the brevity of human life. He decides that, because life is inescapably so short, the only thing that one can do is use it as best he can. He spends the rest of the book reviewing what he believes to be the best way to spend a person’s life, so that upon coming to the end of it he will not be alarmed. Aurelius claims that this will be best accomplished by purifying one’s mind and living without secrets or shame.
At first, these thoughts appear reasonable. However, can a person ever completely free oneself from these things? In the end, I believe that Aurelius defines his worldview by impossible goals. He exhorts the reader to “Never value anything as profitable to thyself which shall compel thee to break thy promise, to lose thy self-respect, to hate any man, to suspect, to curse, to act the hypocrite, to desire anything which needs walls and curtains...” Such rules are beyond reasonable achievement.
These teachings make a stark contrast to Christian beliefs, particularly those written in the book of Ecclesiastes. This book teaches that, indeed, life is short and even meaningless, but because of that, we must look to God for our peace, rather than trying to live well enough that we may die with some sense of calm. In these ways, the teachings of Christianity differ sharply from those of Marcus Aurelius in the third book of Meditations.
(Book 1)
The first thing that struck me about this section of Meditations was Marcus’ humility and gratefulness. He thanks many people, including family, friends, and teachers. The other overwhelming theme that I noticed was the many times Marcus Aurelius mentions Stoic values he learned; things like not displaying emotion, being steadfast, being consistent, living simply, and not being caught up in trifling things. Oh, and not voting for the green or blue team at the Circus. Er . . . well . . . maybe not that. Anyway, I found that he was in fact a Stoic philosopher.
As Christians, we should be grateful or everything to God, as he has given us everything we have. Marcus aurelius seems to sort of do this — he thanks the gods that for a family, friends, and circumstances that allowed him to do the right thing. The theme of the paragraph is summed up in a sentence where he thanks the gods that, “nothing hindered me from forthwith living according to nature, though I still fall short of it through my own fault.” This is oddly contradictory. The author first seems proud that he is a good person, than says he isn’t. It seems to me rather like a Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice attitude; humble pride. I think Marcus Aurelius is overly proud of his deeds, while trying unsuccessfully to avoid pride.
Book 1
He tells of all the virtues he had attained from people around him in this meditation. From those people one can see his growth into an adult and a wise man. He continually refers to teachers, associates, officials, parents, and friends. I think this kind of meditation shows the grandeur of a single life and the magnificence of influence. Put together, these kinds of influences create a whole person with character, virtue, and strength. From learning not to dabble with magicians and sorcerers to learning valor and fortitude, his ode to influences is a clear picture made from little, pieces. This meditation is like watching someone saving one dollar a day until they can afford something great. One quote from the first book is, “From Apollonius I learned freedom of will and undeviating steadiness of purpose.” One can see from this quote and many others that he truly looked up to these figures like a kid and a superhero. Instead of superheroes he had political figures and rhetoricians who taught him valuable things. Lastly, one can see his thanksgiving to the gods. He thanks them for their favor of him.To view this from a Christian perspective is quite interesting. God does not favor one over another. That is where the ancient gods are at fault. Their human (Condition) attributes are glorified instead of a perfect god like ours. Ultimately, God is the stream from where all blessings flow.
Book #7
While slogging through Marcus Aurelius’s seventh installment in “Meditations”, I struggled to find the central theme of his writings. He began by pondering “badness” and how there is nothing in the world that is not “bad.” Then he states, “To recover thy life is in thy power. Look at things again as thou didst use to look at them; for in this consists the recovery of thy life.” The remainder of his writings focus on how a person (specifically a stoic person) should live their life. Thus, looking back on this quote, I found that the main idea of this book is the “recovery of life” i.e. the best way to live.
He brings up several points right away: asking for help, not worrying about the future, not being material, being erect, embracing change (he studies this in great length), readily understanding wrong, being content etc. Finally, he settles down and generally focuses on tranquility, giving tips on how to live a happy life. He believes that one should “confine thyself to the present,” only looking back to learn from others mistakes and predict the future. A simple, modest life with a love for justice and distain for fame. The philosopher says, “Consider thyself to be dead, and to have completed thy life up to the present time; and live in accordance to nature the remainder which is allowed thee.” He believed in fate, worship and natural goodness. Ultimately, he believed that the greatest tranquility is the power to live free of all compulsion.
Book 12 in Marcus Aurelius' Meditations focuses on, instead of worrying more about what other people think of us, we can use the privilege we have been given to only care what God thinks about us. God sees all of our thoughts and the fallen parts of our mind, and so it is far better to use our mind for him than wasting it on trying to achieve success in this life. Isaiah 40:28 says "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever", and Aurelius seems to understand this. He asks us to think back upon the most glorious of figures in history, and what are they now? They have all vanished like a wisp of smoke. Overall, Aurelius' view on this is very Biblical.
In book 2 of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, he talks about how we should live our lives. He begins by saying, "Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial." He is saying your will meet sinful people in your lives everyday, due to their ignorance of good and evil. Man is flesh and bone, it will pass away. He says to live life and think steadily as a Roman, then lists virtues and things that a Roman should be. I also found this quote interesting, "What is it to me to live in a universe devoid of gods or devoid of Providence? But in truth they do exist, and they do care for human things, and they have put all the means in man's power to enable him not to fall into real evils." Now this relates to the Christian faith. He is saying the gods do exist, that they are there to care and help us. We believe that God exists (one God, not multiple), and that he cares for us and helps us. However, the second part does not agree with the Christian faith. He says they have put all the means in man's power to enable him not to fall into evil. We believe that man cannot do this by himself, he needs God's help. You must trust in God and have faith that he will deliver you from evil.
Could you please post the homework?
What homework? Mr. Parker has listened to the wise words of Marcus Aurelius and is giving us a 15-year vacation from GH homework! Did you not get that email?
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