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Accepting Death and Living Well According to Marcus Aurelius
This Roman emperor understood the key to happiness
Plato wanted philosophers to be rulers, but this dream never came to fruition in his own lifetime. Five-hundred years after Plato’s death, however, Marcus Aurelius became ruler of the Roman Empire in 161 AD.
Marcus Aurelius was Plato’s philosopher-king made flesh. Meditations — his most popular work — is a self-help text which was never intended for a mass audience. Aurelius simply wanted to record his thoughts and observations for his own benefit.
The text is crammed with timeless wisdom. Yet, some of the most valuable ideas come from Book IV, which focuses on accepting death and living a good life.
Accepting death
‘People try to get away from it all — to the country, to the beach, to the mountains … you can get away from it anytime you like. By going within. Nowhere you can go is more peaceful — more free of interruptions — than your own soul.’ — Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
