Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations: Selection from Book 4, Part 2 of 2

Founding his beliefs on the teachings of Stoicism, the Roman emperor was also diligent in finding his own way of self-improvement. This 12-volume work has been revered by many other philosophers over the centuries and is praised as a real testament to a government of duty and service. We now continue with excerpts from the personal reflective notes of Marcus Aurelius in Book 4 of “Meditations.” “What is ‘eternal’ fame? Emptiness. Then what should we work for? Only this: proper understanding; unselfish action; truthful speech. A resolve to accept whatever happens as necessary and familiar, flowing like water from that same source and spring. Everything [is] transitory – the knower and the known. Constant awareness that everything is born from change. The knowledge that there is nothing nature loves more than to alter what exists and make new things like it.”