While we don’t get to decide when we get shipwrecked, we do get to decide what we rebuild out of the debris. ‘When I was a child, when I was an adolescent, books saved me from despair: that convinced me that culture was the highest of values.’ From The Woman Destroyed (1967) by Simone de[…]
Commodus was the first of what would be a century of inept emperors. Introduction Commodus was Roman emperor from 180 to 192 CE. With the death of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in March of 180 CE, the long reign of the five good emperors came to an end and with it so did the Pax[…]
Did one of Rome’s wisest and most revered emperors benefit from an ancient precursor of cognitive psychotherapy? The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius mentions undertaking Stoic “therapy” (therapeia) at the start of The Meditations, his famous journal of personal reflections on philosophy. He writes, “From Rusticus, I gained the idea that I was in need of correction and[…]
The first of a century of many inept emperors following the death of Marcus Aurelius. Introduction Commodus was Roman emperor from 180 to 192 CE. With the death of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in March of 180 CE, the long reign of the five good emperors came to an end and with it so did[…]
Marcus’ goal was to become the best – most virtuous – person that he was able to become. Introduction It is very common to hear in both academic circles, as well as more close-knit Stoic circles, Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 CE) being referred to as the philosopher king. This is not an idea that is heavily[…]