Whereas Rome undergoes the attacks of the barbaric nations all along
its borders,the emperor Marcus Aurelius writes day by day his
reflexions about the world,the mankind.A text full of humanity,
attractive by the serenity which emanates from it and the teaching
which we can still withdraw today from this philosophical current of
Antiquity: stoicism. The “Meditations” of Marcus Aurelius are a
single document in the
history of philosophy, and eventhough many
authors tested themselves through this exercise of inner dialogue, they very
often resulted in a form of self-satisfaction. On the contrary, when Marcus
Aurelius practices this kind of intimate dialog,he appears in all
sincerity,remaining scrupulous without any claim or false modesty.
Rather, behind the mask of an emperor, who is perceived as a god, he
reveals himself as an anxious,modest man
who meditates about his inner self, on the
human nature, in a perpetual search of
perfection.However at any moment this permanent search of
perfection or of
virtue does appear austere to us, and even if bitterness and
melancholy are felt sometimes in his reflexion on the mankind, it is above
all the benevolent humanity, almost paternal of Marcus Aurelius whom one feels.Undoubtedly, these thoughts
were not intended to the reader, and, therefore, this is one of the
most appealing aspect of this text.The reader becomes the witness of
the
intimate dialogue between “me” and “I”, where the very powerful emperor
appears
simple man to us, anxious,weak, imperfect. Little by little, a dialogue forms between the reader, the man, the emperor and in a certain
manner with the whole mankind.In fact, the talent of Marcus Aurelius is
to know how to make us to like him, to love the man who he is and
through
him, the humanity which is a part of each one of us. Beyond the report
of his imperfections,our,of his impotence,our, of his
discouragement, our, Marcus Aurelius addresses the Mankind, emphasizing
the nobler side of humanity. But Marcus Aurelius remains faithful to
the
teaching of stoicism, and his thoughts are impregnated with it. And
through them the will of a man, seeking to become another, a new
man, serene, alleviated, wise, takes
shape.
Far from being a simple philosophical
exercise, the text of Marcus Aurelius is constantly anchored in
reality,
reality of the world, reality of the Human, and behind the often
disillusioned matter,he teaches us that the wise one has to eliminate
the reality from any prestige, any vanity, and to ensure that the
reality of the things appears in all its truth. The “Meditations” of
Marcus Aurelius seduce by their truth, their melancholic realism, and
yet if they seem to us the fruit of the solitary
meditation of a disappointed man, they teach us that the retreat in
oneself is the best of the retirements for the one who seeks to know
what lives in the
hearts of the wise men.
More summaries about the Meditations