Yes

by Robert W. McDonald

Created on: November 22, 2009

Julius Caesar is certainly one of the more memorable Romans to have graced the pages of history. His Gallic Wars is deserving of its recognition as one of the classic texts on the conduct of warfare, even when it is compared to the likes of Sun-Tzu's The Art of War or Carl von Clausewitz's masterpiece Vom Kriege (On War). But not even the great Caesar's Gallic Wars rises to the level of Marcus Aurelius and the Meditations.

Marcus Aurelius (121-180 CE), also known as the last of "The Five Good Emperors," ruled as Co-Emperor with Lucius Verus from 161 until Lucius' death in 169 and then as sole Emperor until his own death in March, 180. Marcus Aurelius, as first a military commander and then as Emperor, spent much of his career away from Rome itself due to the demands of suppressing internal dissidence and protecting the Empire's borders. It is believed that he wrote the Meditations during the winter seasons and other lulls in these campaigns.

The Meditations, later combined into 12 books or sections, reflect the depth of Marcus' intellectual commitment to the Stoic school of classical Greek philosophy. As did all Stoics he strove to overcome what he saw as the tendency of others to bring suffering on themselves, and upon others, by giving in to emotional excesses. Rather, he believed that there were two forces which shaped men's lives: their own emotional impulsiveness and the higher, nobler, concept of eternal order and harmony known as the logos. The Meditations are essentially thoughts and observations that would aid in the avoidance of such impulsive behavior and, thus, reduce the turmoil in his own life before such turmoil could "spill over" into the lives of others where it could then compound itself over and over.

Perhaps the most remarkable facet of the Meditations is that Marcus considered them to be something akin to "notes to himself" and it is unclear whether or not he intended for them to be copied and circulated after his death. Given the personal humility that he strove to cultivate, it is likely that he thought that others would not consider them worth savings and the Meditations would die with its creator.

Fortunately, for humanity's sake, they have survived. Not only have they survived, they have inspired men such as Goethe, John Stuart Mill, and Frederick the Great. Some critics have gone so far as to identify the Meditations as being among the seminal works of the western literary tradition.

Caesar may have "Came, Saw, and Conquered" the Gallic tribes, but Marcus Aurelius conquered the most difficult of man's enemies: himself. With his Meditations, he deserves to stand with the likes of Virgil and Juvenal in a place that Julius Caesar could only envy.

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