Marcus Aurelius

Donald Robertson is one of my favorite writers and humans, and this is the fourth Note I’ve created on one of his books. He is one of the world’s leading scholars and practitioners of Stoicism, but what makes his work so powerful is that he so clearly practices what he teaches. In Marcus Aurelius, Donald gives us the perfect biography of the Stoic emperor, weaving together Marcus’s inner life, private philosophy, and outward actions while showing us how Stoicism shaped his character under the immense pressures of power. This is not just a book about a Roman emperor, it is a practical look at virtue, self-mastery, mortality, and what it means to live in agreement with Nature. Big Ideas we explore include The Choice of Hercules, To Himself, Epictetus, On Loan, and The Ideal Sage.