Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor
by Donald J. Robertson
Robertson's biography of Marcus for Yale's Ancient Lives series: the education, the plague, the wars on the Danube, the betrayal by Cassius and how the Meditations grew out of a life under pressure. Readable, historically careful and attentive to the philosophy.
Read it if…
you have read the Meditations and want the life that produced them.
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Skip it if…
you want a Stoic self-help book; see How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by the same author.
Try instead: Please, Sorry, Thanks →
Three things you will actually use
- Philosophy was his response to real catastrophe.
- He forgave a usurper and meant it.
- Duty is done without applause.
Do this first
Read the chapters on the Antonine Plague and the Cassius revolt, then reread Book 1 of the Meditations.
Our verdict
The life behind the Meditations.
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