I am Marcus Aurelius, former emperor of Rome and a follower of the stoic philosophy

Destiny bestowed me with the task of ruling the roman empire. I fulfilled my duty to the best of my abilities, and of course I had to do things that contradicts my stoic philosophy.

But life tends to be difficult and complicated, as most of you know. As my duty is to protect Rome, I had to wage wars. To protect my people, I had to kill thousands.

The book I wrote was for me, a reminder for myself. Trying to be wise, gentle and just. Everyone has his burden, and mine was being the emperor.

I just read your meditations bro, real good shit :)

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I'm the leader of a great nation and I try to rule it justly, but my son and heir is a delusional psychopath who will surely plunge the nation into a dark age. Should I still let him take power after me? pls halp.

Always remember that these things tend to happen. People having bad luck, their loved ones dying. Everything that happens to a man can be endured.
If the pain does not kill you, it can be endured. If you can't endure it, then there is nothing more to worry about.
Regarding a possible financial crisis: Never resort to actions that are not just. Use your abilities to overcome the situation, because you are capable of doing so. You have to life without money? Then do so.
Always remember to be gentle, honest and brave. You will be gone soon nonetheless, so why waste your time with worries about the future? If you keep your soul focused on the importend things in life, nothing can stand in your way.

I'm trying to get out of a bad marriage. Both our names are on the house. How do I handle this gracefully?

Will you return the principate to dynastic succession, or continue to designate an heir like your last 3 predecessors did? The system of electing the man with tribunition power seems to have worked well so far.

Commodus was my son, and it was my duty to forge him into a wise and intelligent man. I have failed, because my love for my child made me blind in that regard. Making him the emperor was a grave mistake.

Goddamn Marcus. Thanks for mediations dawg read that in college

the state i live in has become divided and lies have replaced truth. What do i do to attempt to return us to greater glory and to make the people see the glory of their homeland is more important than their petty politics?

Wasn't expecting a legit answer. Bravo.

Consider this: Your marriage has failed. You have made mistakes for this to happen. First, forgive your wife for the possible mistakes she made. Then, forgive yourself for not being the man you could have been.
Regarding your house: Try to talk with your wife to split it even.
Should this not work: It is just a house, a thing. You can always get another place to stay. Walk away from it, if needed. You will be dead soon, always remember that, Don't burden yourself with meaningless problems, they will cloud your soul and make you miserable.
It doesn't matter what you have and what you lose, as long as you can keep your inner peace and use your abilities to live your life according to your nature.

Thanks for the well-thought out response.

Always search for the truth, for the truth can never really harm a good man. But what is the truth? Step aside, and take a look at the greater picture.
Loving your nation is a good thing. But loving the people is far more important.
The truth is that humans are meant for each other. Never forget this. Politics, religions and money will try to blind you to this elemental fact of your life. Without your fellow people, your life would be meaningless.
All humans are your brothers and sisters. They are related to you, not by blood, but by the same thing we all share, a shard of the divine. Being spitful and hateful towards people is a mistake, for it makes your own life darker and more miserable. If you see them fail, try to correct them. If you can't, love them still, for they are not aware of their mistake, so how could you jugde them for it?

I never intended for anyone to read it. It was a personal reminder for myself to always stay true to my beliefs. But I am glad if it helped you.

It's always the things we didn't intend that people seem to remember the most. Ironic enough.

Why didn't you write your famous book also in Latin so that we dumb Latinists with marginal knowledge of Greek can read it?

How do I get over her, and stop being so jealous of other people in relationships? My whole life women have hated me I even had a gf once but she never wanted to meet me irl and seemed to not actually like me

I wrote it for myself, to remind myself of the true virtues of life. I, like all people, tend to forget about them, because life is messy and distracting.

Never be jealous of other people in love. Be glad, from the bottom of your heart, that they love each other and thus make this world a better place. You have to absolutly understand this.

You don't have a woman in your life? So what? You have all you need to live a great life, for you are a human such as myself. This means: You possess the same mind that can change things, the same soul that can interact with this world to make it a better place. This is your destiny and your purpose. Nothing beyond that.

As for love: Some find it, others do not. This is the reality. You have to come to terms with this. But understand this: A life lived according to your nature, the virtues and for the benefit of others is beautiful. The best chance to find love is to live a good live. To have peace of mind and joy.
Consider yourself dead. Just do it. Then, for the rest of your remaining days, live a different one. You will get everything you need.

How do I not be so scared all the time?

It is important to remember that you will be dead soon. Your life is just a blink in the cosmos.

Never fear death. It is an important part of life, and there is nothing strange about it. And if you do not fear death, what else could ever scare you?

Your problems? Other people? Think about it, is there anything really scary there? Just ordinary things, mundane and forgettable. Always there, and always will be.

Think of the sun. The age of the sun, the size of it. Try to imagine the sun, and you will realize that your problems, located on one tiny place of the earth, are not that big.

You have better things to do than think about your problems. For example, people in your life. Do you use your abilities to their fullest to help them? Do you live a life that is honest, just and wise? If not, what are you waiting for? Isn't this far more important than being scared, although there is nothing to be scared of?

If life is but a blink then what value does it have? Does it have any at all?

How do I stop being lazy?

You are a philosopher. How do you feel about Marx?

You are sent to this world, not by choice, and you will leave it, not knowing when. The time in between is the time you should use, to live a life that is true to your nature and your soul.

What does it mean? You know it already. Living for yourself alone, being greedy, hateful and ignorant will make your life miserable. And if your life is miserable, you don't live according to your nature. What your nature want's is what you want.

Never say “Oh, I am so unfortunate that this has happened to me.” But rather “How fortunate I am that, even though this has happened to me, I continue uninjured, neither terrified by the present nor in fear of the future.
The thing might have happened to any other man as well as myself; but for all that, not everybody would have been so easy under it."

A life lived well is of utmost value. Being joyful and useful, thus helping your fellow brothers and sisters...If you find anything better than this, pursue it with all your heart. But if you can't, start a life according to this principles, and you can't do anything wrong.

Look around you. Look at the bees, the ants. The horses and the trees. They have a meaning, they live according to their own nature.

What is your nature? Can you really assume that being lazy and lying around is a fitting way to live your life? Or will it make you miserable? Because if the way you live your life makes you miserable, then you are ignoring your true nature. You know it, and you should stop it. You should start right know: Starting a new life.

If you are talking about communism, then remember this: Philosophy and politics are two very different things. I for myself have seen it countless times, and have lived a life of contradictions.

Power makes the man corrupt. Always slowly creeping in. If you ever get into a position of power, always think of this. The most dangerous of man is the man who considers himself a philospher and has the power of a statesman, for his responsibility is huge. Always put your virtues and philosopy before politics, and never let your guard down. You will fail otherwise, betrayed by your own flaws.

You're at a tavern on the Aventine hill and Titus Pullo slaps your wife's posterior. What do you do?

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I've developed acute ennui from the boredom and monotony of life. How do I make what I do interesting again?

He will be put to justice, as no man is bigger then the law. But remember this: If anything like this happens to you, never forget to forgive. Man do things the should not, for they don't understand the difference between good and bad. Don't hate him; it only makes you less of a man.

Thanks
How do I acheive my goals?
How do i know the goals I have are good enough?

>lived a life of contradictions
I suppose you do not read what you instigate. Perhaps you realize you are even stating the direct Law of Contradictions, which was proposed and even explained down to the atom by people like Mao and Einstein? Philosophy, as well as science ties in with Communism, remember that, philosopher.

If you are bored of your life, then you are not doing what you should do.

This means either: You are not doing what you nature demands of you. Do you live like a man who understands the value and importants of your own existence? Do you use your capabilities to enhance the world and the people around you? If not, what are you doing then? And why don't you stop and finally start your new life?

Or it means this: You are doing the right things, but you don't understand them. Don't you understand that people are meant for each other? That you should work hard, to let your body and mind be used for what they are intended to? Understand why you do it, accept your fate, as the soldier, the mason or the father understands his.

You're an overrated douche

Never forget that the true worth of a man is to be measured by the goals he pursues.

But what are those goals? Is it money, fame or power? Try, and you will find yourself empty.

Or is it the search for truth, the love for your fellow brothers and sisters, the force to make your life useful to yourself and others? If you find anything beyond that; do it. If not, stick to these principles.

How do you achieve those goals? Follow your true self. You will know when you do it right, every man does. Never hide, never lie. Do nothing that needs to be hidden from others or that makes you feel guilty because you sinned against someone. Keep you soul clean, joyful and just. You will feel truly alive then.

You are insisting on nature but forgetting the relation of man to man and his direction from nature. I'm sure you do not comprehend the fact that man proves that he is intelligent because he forms a thought of God, thus we do not look at the relation of Man to God, but Man to man and Man to nature.

Get another job nigga.
>Indeed

The tyrant must fall

I am referring to nature as the nature of your soul. You have a purpose in life, and all humans have a shard of the divine power, making them aware of their world. There is no connection more important then man to man, there can not be a doubt about this.

What do you wish for everyone to know?
Something that you feel is missing in todays society?

You're in a desert, walking along in the sand when all of a sudden you look down and see a tortoise. It's crawling toward you... You reach down and flip the tortoise over on its back. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over. But it can't. Not without your help. But you're not helping. Why is that?

It doesn't matter when you live or where. You could live a thousand years, and you would witness the same things. People hating each other, loving each other, crying, fighting, gambling and laughing. Politicians, merchants, soldiers, families and hermits. Nothing new, all already seen.

What I want everyone to know is this: It doesn't matter where you are or in what position you are in. There is always the right thing to do, for you and everyone else.

Isn't it so obvious that there is no better time to gain wisdom then the one you are currently living in?

Exactly. This connection is called Dialectics. Although, you are not the earliest philosopher who thought this way. An even earlier example is Anaximander of Miletus. He has the same exact reasoning: to not interrupt relations of man to man with man to god.

I would never hurt an animal on purpose.

You're in a race and you overtake the runner in second place. Which position are you in?

Is Gladiator a good movie and is it an actual portrayal of you?

With all this talk of being gregarious and loving thy fellow man, one must ask. Is isolation morally wrong? If I wish for time alone because those around me bring me down, should I act on that?

Yes

On top your bitch

If i shaved your beard, would you die?

Being by yourself is not wrong, it happens to everyone. Wishing to isolate yourself on the other hand is against your nature. Man are meant for each other. You have to understand that you can always find peace and tranquillity within your own soul: If you keep it clean and bright, there is no better place to retreat to.

No, for my son Commodus did not kill me to become emporor. I made him emporor, and I was a fool for doing so.

Is my penus small?

>t. commodus

I will leave for today. If time allows, I will come back these days, if anyone wishes to ask more questions.

I went on a date with a black girl the other day and it didn’t go that well, when I told her that I think it would be better to stay friends she thought that meant “text me every hour of every day”. Anyways, I would’ve ghosted her by now but her whole family knows where I work and she has 4 fucking brothers that are massive. How do I get her to fuck off politely?