Seventeen debts.
Every one of them a person, except the last.
Debts and Lessons
Marcus Aurelius · Meditations, Book One
Before anything else, the emperor writes down what he owes. Seventeen entries, each one a person and the thing he got from them. He wrote it on campaign, among the Quadi on the river Granua, for nobody but himself.
I. From my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and the government of my temper.
Verushis grandfather
Marcus Annius Verus: three times consul and Prefect of the City. The family had been settled in Spain for generations before it came to Rome. Marcus was brought up in his house after his own father died.
Where they were from
Prefect of the City, from a family long settled in Spain.
When, in his life
writing this
about 124–138
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
He brought Marcus up after his father died.
Where it comes from
The phrase Long renders "the government of my temper" is about the ruling faculty, the part of a person that judges and assents. Anger is the passion Marcus returns to more than any other; much of Book XI is an argument with himself about it.
Where he says it again
Anger is the subject he returns to most. Book XI is largely an argument with himself about it.
II. From the reputation and remembrance of my father, modesty and a manly character.
His fatherby reputation
Marcus Annius Verus the younger, praetor. He died when Marcus was about three. Beyond the office and the death, almost nothing is recorded.
Where they were from
No place is recorded for his father.
When, in his life
writing this
121–124
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Dead before Marcus was four.
Where it comes from
His father died when Marcus was about three. He is not thanking a memory here — he is thanking a reputation, assembled out of what other people told him about a man he never knew.
III. From my mother, piety and beneficence, and abstinence, not only from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts; and further, simplicity in my way of living, far removed from the habits of the rich.
His mother
Domitia Lucilla, heiress to a brickworks outside Rome whose makers’ stamps are still turned up today. Her house stood on the Caelian Hill. Marcus was with her when she died.
Where they were from
Her house stood on the Caelian Hill in Rome.
When, in his life
writing this
about 121–155
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
She outlived his accession to Caesar; the year of her death is argued over.
Where it comes from
Domitia Lucilla was extremely rich; she owned brickworks outside Rome whose stamps survive. "Far removed from the habits of the rich" is therefore a claim about how she lived, not about what she had.
IV. From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools, and to have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man should spend liberally.
His great-grandfather
Catilius Severus: governor of Syria, proconsul of Asia, twice consul, Prefect of the City. Marcus was very nearly named after him instead.
Where they were from
Governor of Syria, proconsul of Asia, then Prefect of the City.
When, in his life
writing this
about 121–138
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Of his boyhood.
Where it comes from
Boys of his rank went out to a grammaticus. Keeping teachers at home was the more expensive course, which is the point of the entry: that money is worth spending on this and on little else.
V. From my governor, to be neither of the green nor of the blue party at the games in the Circus, nor a partisan either of the Parmularius or the Scutarius at the gladiators' fights; from him too I learned endurance of labor, and to want little, and to work with my own hands, and not to meddle with other people's affairs, and not to be ready to listen to slander.
His governor
His paedagogus — the household slave or freedman who walked a boy to his lessons and answered for his conduct. Marcus never gives his name, here or anywhere else.
Where they were from
His governor is not named, and no place is recorded.
When, in his life
writing this
when is not recorded
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Where it comes from
The Greens and Blues were chariot factions, and faction was how ordinary Romans did politics — it could and did turn into riot. Refusing to belong to either is not indifference; it is a position.
VI. From Diognetus, not to busy myself about trifling things, and not to give credit to what was said by miracle-workers and jugglers about incantations and the driving away of daemons and such things; and not to breed quails for fighting, nor to give myself up passionately to such things; and to endure freedom of speech; and to have become intimate with philosophy; and to have been a hearer, first of Bacchius, then of Tandasis and Marcianus; and to have written dialogues in my youth; and to have desired a plank bed and skin, and whatever else of the kind belongs to the Grecian discipline.
Diognetushis tutor
His painting master. That he taught Marcus to paint, and turned him toward philosophy, is the whole of what survives about him.
Where they were from
Nothing is recorded of Diognetus but that he taught him painting.
When, in his life
writing this
about 132–137
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
The boy who took up philosophy at about twelve.
Where it comes from
Quail-fighting was a gambling sport. Notice the company the entry keeps it in: miracle-workers, exorcists, incantations. They are all the same failure — letting yourself be taken in.
VII. From Rusticus I received the impression that my character required improvement and discipline; and from him I learned not to be led astray to sophistic emulation, nor to writing on speculative matters, nor to delivering little hortatory orations, nor to showing myself off as a man who practises much discipline, or does benevolent acts in order to make a display; and to abstain from rhetoric, and poetry, and fine writing; and not to walk about in the house in my outdoor dress, nor to do other things of the kind; and to write my letters with simplicity, like the letter which Rusticus wrote from Sinuessa to my mother; and with respect to those who have offended me by words, or done me wrong, to be easily disposed to be pacified and reconciled, as soon as they have shown a readiness to be reconciled; and to read carefully, and not to be satisfied with a superficial understanding of a book; nor hastily to give my assent to those who talk overmuch; and I am indebted to him for being acquainted with the discourses of Epictetus, which he communicated to me out of his own collection.
RusticusStoic, his teacher
Quintus Junius Rusticus, Stoic, twice consul and Prefect of the City. As prefect he later presided over the trial and execution of Justin Martyr.
Where they were from
Prefect of the City.
When, in his life
writing this
about 146–170
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
The years in which Marcus became a Stoic.
Where it comes from
It was Rusticus who lent him Epictetus from his own library. Nearly everything Stoic in the Meditations arrives through that loan, which makes this the most consequential entry in the book.
Where he says it again
The Epictetus that Rusticus lent him is quoted more than any other source — most heavily in Books XI and XII.
VIII. From Apollonius I learned freedom of will and undeviating steadiness of purpose; and to look to nothing else, not even for a moment, except to reason; and to be always the same, in sharp pains, on the occasion of the loss of a child, and in long illness; and to see clearly in a living example that the same man can be both most resolute and yielding, and not peevish in giving his instruction; and to have had before my eyes a man who clearly considered his experience and his skill in expounding philosophical principles as the smallest of his merits; and from him I learned how to receive from friends what are esteemed favors, without being either humbled by them or letting them pass unnoticed.
Apolloniusof Chalcedon
A Stoic brought from the east at considerable expense to teach the heir. Called “of Chalcedon”; others say Chalcis, and Cassius Dio says Nicomedia.
Where they were from
Called “of Chalcedon” — though some say Chalcis, and Cassius Dio says Nicomedia.
When, in his life
writing this
when is not recorded
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Where it comes from
The Stoic claim is that the wise man is the same in every circumstance. Marcus buried most of his children; when he writes "the loss of a child" he is naming something he needed this doctrine for.
Where he says it again
Book IV returns to it as the headland: “Be like the promontory against which the waves continually break.”
IX. From Sextus, a benevolent disposition, and the example of a family governed in a fatherly manner, and the idea of living conformably to nature; and gravity without affectation, and to look carefully after the interests of friends, and to tolerate ignorant persons, and those who form opinions without consideration:+ he had the power of readily accommodating himself to all, so that intercourse with him was more agreeable than any flattery; and at the same time he was most highly venerated by those who associated with him: and he had the faculty both of discovery and ordering, in an intelligent and methodical way, the principles necessary for life; and he never showed anger or any other passion, but was entirely free from passion, and also most affectionate; and he could express approbation without noisy display, and he possessed much knowledge without ostentation.
Sextusof Chaeronea
Sextus of Chaeronea in Boeotia, of Plutarch’s family — nephew or grandson, the sources differ. He taught Lucius Verus as well.
Where they were from
Sextus of Chaeronea in Boeotia, a nephew of Plutarch.
When, in his life
writing this
when is not recorded
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Where it comes from
"To live conformably to nature" is the central Stoic formula — living in agreement with how things actually are, rather than how one would prefer them. It recurs throughout the later books.
Where he says it again
Living conformably to nature comes back in Books IV and XII.
X. From Alexander the grammarian, to refrain from fault-finding, and not in a reproachful way to chide those who uttered any barbarous or solecistic or strange-sounding expression; but dexterously to introduce the very expression which ought to have been used, and in the way of answer or giving confirmation, or joining in an inquiry about the thing itself, not about the word, or by some other fit suggestion.
Alexanderthe grammarian
Alexander of Cotiaeum in Phrygia, the most admired Homeric scholar of the age. He taught Aelius Aristides too, and lived in the Palace at Rome.
Where they were from
Alexander of Cotiaeum in Phrygia, who lived in the Palace at Rome.
When, in his life
writing this
about 133–145
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
His Greek grammar, in boyhood and after.
Where it comes from
The lesson is about correcting someone without the correction being about you. Supply the right word and move on; do not take the opportunity to be seen being right.
XI. From Fronto I learned to observe what envy and duplicity and hypocrisy are in a tyrant, and that generally those among us who are called Patricians are rather deficient in paternal affection.
Frontohis rhetoric master
Marcus Cornelius Fronto of Cirta, the leading Latin orator of his day. Their letters survive and are warm; he spent years trying to stop Marcus abandoning rhetoric for philosophy, and failed.
Where they were from
An orator from Cirta in Africa, who led the bar at Rome.
When, in his life
writing this
about 139–167
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Tutor, then correspondent, until Fronto died.
Where it comes from
Fronto was his rhetoric master and their letters survive, full of affection. What Marcus records from him is not eloquence but a warning about what power does to a man.
XII. From Alexander the Platonic, not frequently nor without necessity to say to any one, or to write in a letter, that I have no leisure; nor continually to excuse the neglect of duties required by our relation to those with whom we live, by alleging urgent occupations.
Alexanderthe Platonic
A rhetorician of Seleucia, made Marcus’s Greek secretary while headquarters were in Pannonia.
Where they were from
A rhetorician from Seleucia, appointed while headquarters were in Pannonia.
When, in his life
writing this
about 170–175
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Appointed during this very campaign.
Where it comes from
"I have no leisure" as a way of getting out of an obligation. Seneca makes the same attack in On the Shortness of Life: people guard their money and squander the one thing they cannot get back.
Where he says it again
Book IV puts it as an instruction: do few things, if you would have tranquillity.
XIII. From Catulus not to be indifferent when a friend finds fault, even if he should find fault without reason, but to try to restore him to his usual disposition; and to be ready to speak well of teachers, as it is reported of Domitius and Athenodotus; and to love my children truly.
CatulusStoic
Cinna Catulus, a Stoic. The commentary’s whole note on him is “of whom nothing more is known”.
Where they were from
Cinna Catulus, “of whom nothing more is known”.
When, in his life
writing this
when is not recorded
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Where it comes from
Taking correction from a friend without resentment is a recurring Stoic test, because the friend is the only person who will tell you. The second half of the entry — loving children truly — sits oddly beside it, and he left both.
XIV. From my brother Severus, to love my kin, and to love truth, and to love justice; and through him I learned to know Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion, Brutus; and from him I received the idea of a polity in which there is the same law for all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed; I learned from him also + consistency and undeviating steadiness in my regard for philosophy; and a disposition to do good, and to give to others readily, and to cherish good hopes, and to believe that I am loved by my friends; and in him I observed no concealment of his opinions with respect to those whom he condemned, and that his friends had no need to conjecture what he wished or did not wish, but it was quite plain.
Severushis brother
Probably Claudius Severus, a Peripatetic, whose son married one of Marcus’s daughters. Long renders the Greek as “my brother”; whether that is what it means is argued over, and no birthplace is recorded.
Where they were from
No place is recorded for Severus.
When, in his life
writing this
when is not recorded
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Where it comes from
"A kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed" — written by a man with absolute power, about the kind of rule he intended to exercise. Judge it against the reign.
XV. From Maximus I learned self-government, and not to be led aside by anything; and cheerfulness in all circumstances, as well as in illness; and a just admixture in the moral character of sweetness and dignity, and to do what was set before me without complaining. I observed that everybody believed that he thought as he spoke, and that in all that he did he never had any bad intention; and he never showed amazement and surprise, and was never in a hurry, and never put off doing a thing, nor was perplexed nor dejected, nor did he ever laugh to disguise his vexation, nor, on the other hand, was he ever passionate or suspicious. He was accustomed to do acts of beneficence, and was ready to forgive, and was free from all falsehood; and he presented the appearance of a man who could not be diverted from right, rather than of a man who had been improved. I observed, too, that no man could ever think that he was despised by Maximus, or ever venture to think himself a better man. He had also the art of being humorous in an agreeable way.+
MaximusClaudius Maximus
Claudius Maximus, Stoic and consul. He may be the proconsul of Africa before whom Apuleius defended himself against a charge of magic — may be; it is not settled.
Where they were from
He may be the proconsul of Africa before whom Apuleius spoke. It is not certain.
When, in his life
writing this
when is not recorded
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Where it comes from
Consistency is the Stoic measure of character: the same man in public and alone, in health and in illness. "No one could think that he was lying" is the highest thing Marcus says about anybody here.
XVI.
- In my father I observed mildness of temper, and unchangeable resolution in the things which he had determined after due deliberation;
- and no vain-glory in those things which men call honors;
- and a love of labor and perseverance;
- and a readiness to listen to those who had anything to propose for the common weal;
- and undeviating firmness in giving to every man according to his deserts;
- and a knowledge derived from experience of the occasions for vigorous action and for remission. And I observed that he had overcome all passion for boys;
- and he considered himself no more than any other citizen;
- and he released his friends from all obligation to sup with him or to attend him of necessity when he went abroad, and those who had failed to accompany him, by reason of any urgent circumstances, always found him the same. I observed too his habit of careful inquiry in all matters of deliberation, and his persistency, and that he never stopped his investigation through being satisfied with appearances which first present themselves;
- and that his disposition was to keep his friends, and not to be soon tired of them, nor yet to be extravagant in his affection;
- and to be satisfied on all occasions, and cheerful;
- and to foresee things a long way off, and to provide for the smallest without display;
- and to check immediately popular applause and all flattery;
- and to be ever watchful over the things which were necessary for the administration of the empire, and to be a good manager of the expenditure, and patiently to endure the blame which he got for such conduct;
- and he was neither superstitious with respect to the gods, nor did he court men by gifts or by trying to please them, or by flattering the populace;
- but he showed sobriety in all things, and firmness, and never any mean thoughts or action, nor love of novelty. And the things which conduce in any way to the commodity of life, and of which fortune gives an abundant supply, he used without arrogance and without excusing himself;
- so that when he had them, he enjoyed them without affectation, and when he had them not, he did not want them. No one could ever say of him that he was either a sophist or a home-bred flippant slave or a pedant;
- but every one acknowledged him to be a man ripe, perfect, above flattery, able to manage his own and other men's affairs. Besides this, he honored those who were true philosophers, and he did not reproach those who pretended to be philosophers, nor yet was he easily led by them. He was also easy in conversation, and he made himself agreeable without any offensive affectation. He took a reasonable care of his body's health, not as one who was greatly attached to life, nor out of regard to personal appearance, nor yet in a careless way, but so that through his own attention he very seldom stood in need of the physician's art or of medicine or external applications. He was most ready to give without envy to those who possessed any particular faculty, such as that of eloquence or knowledge of the law or of morals, or of anything else;
- and he gave them his help, that each might enjoy reputation according to his deserts;
- and he always acted conformably to the institutions of his country, without showing any affectation of doing so. Further, he was not fond of change nor unsteady, but he loved to stay in the same places, and to employ himself about the same things;
- and after his paroxysms of headache he came immediately fresh and vigorous to his usual occupations. His secrets were not many, but very few and very rare, and these only about public matters;
- and he showed prudence and economy in the exhibition of the public spectacles and the construction of public buildings, his donations to the people, and in such things, for he was a man who looked to what ought to be done, not to the reputation which is got by a man's acts. He did not take the bath at unseasonable hours;
- he was not fond of building houses, nor curious about what he ate, nor about the texture and color of his clothes, nor about the beauty of his slaves. His dress came from Lorium, his villa on the coast, and from Lanuvium generally. We know how he behaved to the toll-collector at Tusculum who asked his pardon;
- and such was all his behavior. There was in him nothing harsh, nor implacable, nor violent, nor, as one may say, anything carried to the sweating point;
- but he examined all things severally, as if he had abundance of time, and without confusion, in an orderly way, vigorously and consistently. And that might be applied to him which is recorded of Socrates, that he was able both to abstain from, and to enjoy, those things which many are too weak to abstain from, and cannot enjoy without excess. But to be strong enough both to bear the one and to be sober in the other is the mark of a man who has a perfect and invincible soul, such as he showed in the illness of Maximus.
Antoninus Piushis adoptive father
Emperor from 138 to 161, who adopted Marcus at Hadrian’s direction. His reign is the least eventful of any emperor’s, which in Rome is close to the highest thing that can be said.
Where they were from
His country seats were at Lorium and Lanuvium, near Rome.
When, in his life
writing this
138–161
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
Adopted at seventeen; emperor at forty when Antoninus died.
Where it comes from
The longest entry in the book, and the model Marcus measures himself against for the rest of it. In Book VI he reduces it to one instruction: in everything, act as a disciple of Antoninus.
Where he says it again
Book VI reduces this whole entry to one line: do everything as a disciple of Antoninus.
XVII.
- To the gods I am indebted for having good grandfathers, good parents, a good sister, good teachers, good associates, good kinsmen and friends, nearly everything good. Further, I owe it to the gods that I was not hurried into any offence against any of them, though I had a disposition which, if opportunity had offered, might have led me to do something of this kind;
- but, through their favor, there never was such a concurrence of circumstances as put me to the trial. Further, I am thankful to the gods that I was not longer brought up with my grandfather's concubine, and that I preserved the flower of my youth, and that I did not make proof of my virility before the proper season, but even deferred the time;
- that I was subjected to a ruler and father who was able to take away all pride from me, and to bring me to the knowledge that it is possible for a man to live in a palace without wanting either guards or embroidered dresses, or torches and statues, and such-like show;
- but that it is in such a man's power to bring himself very near to the fashion of a private person, without being for this reason either meaner in thought, or more remiss in action, with respect to the things which must be done for the public interest in a manner that befits a ruler. I thank the gods for giving me such a brother, who was able by his moral character to rouse me to vigilance over myself, and who at the same time pleased me by his respect and affection;
- that my children have not been stupid nor deformed in body;
- that I did not make more proficiency in rhetoric, poetry, and the other studies, in which I should perhaps have been completely engaged, if I had seen that I was making progress in them;
- that I made haste to place those who brought me up in the station of honor, which they seemed to desire, without putting them off with hope of my doing it some other time after, because they were then still young;
- that I knew Apollonius, Rusticus, Maximus;
- that I received clear and frequent impressions about living according to nature, and what kind of a life that is, so that, so far as depended on the gods, and their gifts, and help, and inspirations, nothing hindered me from forthwith living according to nature, though I still fall short of it through my own fault, and through not observing the admonitions of the gods, and, I may almost say, their direct instructions;
- that my body has held out so long in such a kind of life;
- that I never touched either Benedicta or Theodotus, and that, after having fallen into amatory passions, I was cured, and, though I was often out of humor with Rusticus, I never did anything of which I had occasion to repent;
- that, though it was my mother's fate to die young, she spent the last years of her life with me;
- that, whenever I wished to help any man in his need, or on any other occasion, I was never told that I had not the means of doing it;
- and that to myself the same necessity never happened, to receive anything from another;
- that I have such a wife, so obedient, and so affectionate, and so simple;
- that I had abundance of good masters for my children;
- and that remedies have been shown to me by dreams, both others, and against bloodspitting and giddiness...;
- and that, when I had an inclination to philosophy, I did not fall into the hands of any sophist, and that I did not waste my time on writers of histories, or in the resolution of syllogisms, or occupy myself about the investigation of appearances in the heavens;
- for all these things require the help of the gods and fortune. Among the Quadi at the Granua.
The gods
No person: the book closes by turning outward, and the list of what he owes the gods runs almost as long as the list for his father.
Where they were from
He thanks the gods, and names no place at all.
When, in his life
writing this
121–180
born 121
adopted 138
emperor 161
died 180
The whole of it.
Where it comes from
The only entry addressed outward rather than to himself. Gratitude practised as a discipline — naming what you were given, so that you cannot mistake it for something you achieved.
I of XVII
Text: George Long, 1862, public domain, from Project Gutenberg, set unaltered — footnote marks removed, and Long's bracketed words kept, because the Greek omits the verb. XVI and XVII are lists because that is how they are punctuated: twenty-four clauses and nineteen, each a separate debt. Places follow the Wikisource commentary on Book One; where it records none — his father, his governor, Diognetus, Catulus, Severus — the map says so rather than guessing.