A collection of aphoristic thoughts of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius in 12 "books"

There was such an emperor: he lived happily, did not abuse any excesses, had a strong family, pinned great hopes on his son-heir, strengthened the borders of the Roman Empire, not without success participated in continuous wars and repelled the onslaught of barbarians, died unexpectedly in a campaign not far from modern Vienna. At leisure, he made brief notes about what was thought out and what he had experienced; He wrote not in Latin, in ancient Greek. The result was a masterpiece book, which was discovered after the death of the emperor, examining his archive.

After Marcus Aurelius, the misfortunes and misfortunes of the state began to grow like an avalanche. Son - Emperor Commodus - turned out to be a scum. Barbarians broke through the sacred borders of the empire. Two centuries later, Alaric took by storm and plundered Rome, later the Vandals completed its complete destruction. From the Eternal City were left alone ruins. The book of the emperor-philosopher - the only one of the monotonous series of rulers of Rome - still sparkles with an unfading gem in the crown of world culture.

To some extent, Marcus Aurelius was able to realize the crystal dream of Plato, who believed that state management would only reach optimum perfection when philosophers came to power. Emperor Mark for the entire long world history was the only philosopher on the throne. A real philosopher - his name is on a par with other great thinkers in any textbook on the history of philosophy in the section on the Stoics. The life position and moral ideal of the Stoics have always been associated with in-depth self-improvement, aimed at achieving the common good. Marcus Aurelius, as he could, tried to put into practice this philosophical setting.

What problems worried the Roman emperor, the ruler of the half-world, to whom any desire was available? Yes, everything is the same that worries any person - yesterday, today, tomorrow. The royal philosopher only deepened, systematized and generalized the thoughts, which others probably also came to mind. But he begins with a respectful and sincere expression of gratitude to his parents, ancestors, friends, teachers and gods (all in order) for teaching him a philosophical vision of the world, the art of self-improvement and the sacraments of self-deepening.