Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed

Guides for the Perplexed

by William O. Stephens

This book is a clear and concise introduction to the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. His one major surviving work, often titled 'meditations' but literally translated simply as 'to himself', is a series of short, sometimes enigmatic reflections divided seemingly arbitrarily into twelve books and apparently written only to be read by him. For these reasons Marcus is a particularly difficult thinker to understand. His musings, framed as 'notes to self' or 'memoranda', are the exhortations of an earnest, conscientious Stoic burdened with the onerous responsibilities of ruling an entire, enormous empire.
William O. Stephens lucidly sketches Marcus Aurelius' upbringing, family relations, rise to the throne, military campaigns, and legacy, situating his philosophy amidst his life and times, explicating the factors shaping Marcus' philosophy, and clarifying key themes in the Memoranda. Specifically designed to meet the needs of students seeking a thorough understanding of this key figure and his major work, Marcus A Guide for the Perplexed is the ideal guide for understanding this Stoic author - the only philosopher who was also an emperor.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

William O. Stephens is an American expert on Stoicism and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Creighton University.
His books include Epictetus’s Encheiridion: A New Translation and Guide to Stoic Ethics (Bloomsbury, 2023), a revised edition of his English translation of A. F. Bonhöffer, The Ethics of the Stoic Epictetus (Peter Lang, 2021), Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed (Bloomsbury, 2012), Stoic Ethics: Epictetus and Happiness as Freedom (Bloomsbury, 2007), and The Person: Readings in Human Nature (Prentice Hall, 2006). His writings on Stoic topics include food, animals, ecology, love, death, habit, refugees, sports, travel, the Star Wars films, the film Gladiator (2000), and Dungeons & Dragons.

Reviews

[Castles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dense but very interesting.

The first part is a biography of Marcus Aurelius, which I found interesting since it was so detailed that I was actually wondering how do we have all this information (and not being so much academic, the book doesn’t seem in need to prove any of the facts it’s telling).

The second part is explanatory, examples and debates about the philosophy, and how Aurelius had interpreted the teaching of Epictetus and Heraclitus.

It’s a good read to follow after the “meditations” of Aurelius. I must admit I’ve struggled a bit with the second part since it was very dense, but it’s also very clear so, no complaints...

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good thing that a book like this exists, but in reading it I can’t help but think that anyone who can appreciate this particular book is going to find it unnecessary. Is the writing of Marcus Aurelius so hard to understand? I don’t happen to think that his writing is too difficult to understand for those who approach his work with some knowledge of Stoicism and some degree of skepticism for the overheated claims that people make for Marcus’ wisdom as a sage emperor. This book certainly is more clear-eyed than most about Marcus, recognizing his philosophical interests but at the same time not being blind to his logical fallacies as well. And this certainly makes the book a more enjoyable read than it would otherwise have been. In fact, I liked this book a great deal. Indeed, this book did a very good job at putting Marcus Aurelius in a larger context and pointing out what he was referring to in some of his statements, all of which helps indicate what it is that he had read and appreciated, and that is something worth knowing for any good author.

This book is a relatively short one at just over 150 pages of reading material. The book begins with a list of illustrations and acknowledgements and then moves on to discuss Marcus Aurelius as a man, an emperor, and as a thinker (1), viewing his performance of different roles over the course of a long and complex life. After that the author looks at the importance of Heraclitus and Epicetetus on the thinking of Aurelius (2), starting with Heraclitus’ views on the logos, sleeping, the harmony of opposites, the river, as well as fluxes and fortitude and then moving on to Epicetetus’ views on Socrates as a stoic hero, dualism, being at death’s door, and the theater of life. After that the author looks at the matter of wholes an parts in Aurelius’ thinking (3), including the question of the role of the citizen in the state. After this comes a discussion of time, transience, and eternity (4) as it relates to Aurelius’ writing and thinking as we know it, as well as a final chapter on virtues, vices, and junk (5). The book ends with an epilogue on the soul of a stoic and then contains an appendix that discusses the portrayal of stoicism in the film Gladiator, as well as notes, a glossary, suggestions for further reading, and a subject and name index.

In reading this book, does one get the sense of knowing Marcus Aurelius better? I must admit, this book does not answer the sort of questions I would most have about him, but that is by no means a bad thing. Who can know a Roman emperor personally almost two thousand years in the future, and who would want to anyway? To be sure, there are some people who draw a great deal of insight and encouragement from his writing and thinking and that is something that we can recognize even if we do not necessarily understand or approve of it entirely. Those who read this book will certainly understand Marcus Aurelius’ writings better and may find something in the many roles the man undertook to be an inspiration for one’s own life. To be sure, the emperor and I have very different views of virtue and vice and junk, for example, but one can respect those one disagrees with, and that is certainly worth something. In times such as our own where people routinely disregard any sort of insight from those that they disagree with, it is especially important for us to be otherwise, and this book certainly helps with that.

[Belal Darder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was raised to believe in the moral superiority of Islam which now I think of as merely a concomitant of ignorance.

Worth noting here that Islam actually prohibits its followers from reading the teachings of other religions which is very telling in my opinion just as the fact that Islam´s punishment for apostasy is beheading!

Perhaps in The Arabian Peninsula _which was a land of constant conflict between stone-worshiping tribes_ Islam was a morally superior religion but The Arabian Peninsula is not the world and the world and History are full of nobler philosophies and schools of thought.

I coincidentally came across Stoicism through a Youtube video and I was blown away basically, after treating my mind to a general thorough read of what Stoicism advocates for, I bought Meditations for the most famous Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius which was very hard to read and I was not able to finish it.

Meditations is a series of reflections that Marcus wrote for himself and it was actually intended to be destroyed after his death, in fact, the first published edition of this book in the seventeenth century was titled “To himself”.

I lacked the historical and cultural background that allows me to understand and fully perceive Marcus´ ideas so I did some research and I bought this book.

“Marcus Aurelius A Guide for the Perplexed” is basically a concise introduction to Marcus´ life, a more simplified explanation of his teachings and the main ideas discussed in his only major surviving work “Meditations” and a perfect starting point for studying Stoicism.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful overview of Aurelius’ Meditations including some background of his life an intellectual influences (mostly Heraclitus and Epictetus), therefore mostly about his stoic views. Well written. Sometimes a bit too much repeating of the same, but overall a great read.

[Jack Oughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on Marcus Aurelius I have read yet. Lots of interesting backstory about his life, as well as a useful analysis and commentary on his meditations.

[Ron Kastner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good succinct summary of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations (or Memoranda, in Stephens preferred language). This is best read after a reading or two of Marcus's volume.

[Terrifying of Goats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucid, well researched, but not overbearing or exhaustive (unlike the two biographies of Marcus Aurelius floating about), this is an approach able book that balances discussions of philosophy against biographical information.
While the philosophical discussion will leave anyone with an academic philosophical background underwhelmed, it's excellently pitched to those new to the subject.

[Michał Kłaczyński · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction for stoicism.