When one thinks of Roman emperors, typically, a vision of malevolent, crazed, narcissistic tyrants demanding worship (or death) comes to mind. Yet, readers are fortunate indeed to have access to one of the finest minds of ancient antiquity in The Emperor’s Handbook, by Marcus Aurelius, lauded as one of the “Five Good Emperors” by Niccolo Machiavelli in the sixteenth century (Machiavelli, 1531, Book I: Chapter 10). Within this proverbial tome, Aurelius presents his advice, admonitions, and axioms regarding the path of the good life for all humanity in twelve loquacious chapters.
As in the Golden Era of Israel, in which King Solomon enjoyed prolonged peace and good fortune, the Roman culture and society that surrounded Aurelius also provided him ample and precious time to contemplate his (and others’) road to success, which he attributed to both wise choices and the providence of the gods. Rome, in this era (121–180 CE), was steeped in polytheism, so it is not surprising that Aurelius makes repeated references to the providence and beneficence of the gods in each of his journal’s chapters. Yet, unlike the fickleness of the Greek gods, Aurelius saw goodness, charity, and divine justice in the ways of the gods, proclaiming,
“But in truth, they do exist, and they do care for human beings, and they have put all the means in man’s power to enable him not to fall into real evils” (Book II, Section 11).
Ultimately, though, Aurelius’ own vision of the gods includes a humble, yet pragmatic view mankind (and of himself), wherein all mortal human beings can attain unprecedented blessings simply by taking advantage of the earthly palette of opportunities provided to everyone from the gods, if they would just set aside their unstable human emotions for a philosophy of life that is principled, purposeful, and predictive. As Aurelius concludes,
“What a power man has, to do nothing except what God will approve, and to accept all the God may give him” (Book XII, Section 11).
With such sagacious aphorisms, it is no wonder that many consider Aurelius’ The Emperor’s Handbook to be still just as relevant and resonant in the twenty-first century as it was in the second century.
References
Aurelius, M. The Emperor’s Handbook: A New Translation of the Meditations. New York: Scribner, 2002.
Machiavelli, N. (1531). Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Lives. Public.