Marcus Aurelius
by Frank McLynn
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Marcus Aurelius (121?180 AD) is one of the great figures of antiquity whose life and words still speak to us today. His Meditations remains one of the most widely read books from the classical world, and his life represents the fulfillment of Plato's famous dictum that mankind will prosper only when philosophers are rulers. Based on all available original sources, Marcus Aurelius is the definitive biography to date of this monumental historical figure.Tags
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The author of The Meditations and Emperor of the Roman Empire is the subject of this comprehensive biography. Meditations is one of my favorite books and this is a worthwhile adjunct for that classic work providing historic and personal background that informs our understanding of Marcus' life and times.
This is a voluminous and well-written account of the philosopher-King Marcus Aurelius. McLynn has a range of comparisons to make, especially with British monarchs, but he fairly addresses Marcus' successes and failures. Despite the importance of Marcus he has not been the subject of as many works as his fame might indicate and this is the first full-length biography about a long admired Emperor that I have read.
McLynn describes in some detail, the philosophy of Stoicism, its limitations, and principal adherents. In giving a sound autobiographical and historical account McLynn details some of Aurelius' triumphs, particularly his success in defeating barbarian tribes in Dacia, or arguably his worst decision, appointing his son, the madman show more Commodus, as his successor.
Cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_McLynn show less
McLynn describes in some detail, the philosophy of Stoicism, its limitations, and principal adherents. In giving a sound autobiographical and historical account McLynn details some of Aurelius' triumphs, particularly his success in defeating barbarian tribes in Dacia, or arguably his worst decision, appointing his son, the madman show more Commodus, as his successor.
Cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_McLynn show less
Very comprehensive analysis of the stoic emperor. For a great emperor, he was a poor judge of men including his own son Commodus.
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Author Information
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Frank McLynn is currently visiting professor in the Department of Literature at Strathclyde University.
Some Editions
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Marcus Aurelius
- Original publication date
- 2009
- People/Characters
- Marcus Aurelius; Commodus
- Important places
- Roman Empire
- Dedication
- To Julie, with love and appreciation
- First words
- Why should we be interested in a Roman emperor who lived 2,000 years ago? (Introduction)
Just as we refer to, say, John F. Kennedy at the thirty-fifth president of the United States, so we may call Marcus Aurelius the sixteenth ruler of the Roman empire (that is, if we include the three short-lived incumbents of ... (show all)the 'years of the four emperors' in AD 68-9). - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Truly Marcus Aurelius was a man for all ages.
- Publisher's editor
- Whittone, Tony; Sulkin, Will
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 937.07092 — History & geography History of ancient world (to ca. 499) Italian Peninsula to 476 and adjacent territories to 476 Constitutional 31 B.C.-284 A.D.
- LCC
- DG297 .M35 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania City History of Italy Ancient Italy. Rome to 476 History By period Empire, 27 B.C. - 476 A.D. Constitutional Empire, 27 B.C. - 284 A.D.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 334
- Popularity
- 94,730
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.52)
- Languages
- English, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 6
