Marcus Aurelius is perhaps the best known Roman Emperor for the right reasons. Most of us know the names of Nero and Caligula for their despotism and destructive indulgences, but Marcus comes close to universal praise for the way he wielded power over the greatest empire the world has known.

He is known principally for his journals, compiled into a book known as the Meditations. The journals documented the common and sometimes surprising struggles that come with absolute power and Marcus’s philosophical thoughts as a practicing Stoic.

Along with Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian and Antonius Pious, Marcus is known as one of the five “good emperors”, first coined by Niccolò Machiavelli. The Italian statesman and political philosopher pointed out the curious fact that all the best emperors of Rome were adopted and not raised as biological heirs.

The good emperors, Machiavelli wrote,

“had no need of praetorian cohorts, or of countless legions to guard them, but were defended by their own good lives, the good-will of their subjects, and the attachment of the Senate.”

Curiously still, all the “good” emperors reigned in succession from 96–192 CE. Edward Gibbon, the great historian of Rome’s decline, believed that the era of the “five good emperors” was the most “happy and prosperous” for mankind. The reasons being that rule is best when it is absolute and reasonable:

“The vast extent of the Roman Empire was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of virtue and wisdom. The armies were restrained by the firm but gentle hand of four successive emperors, whose characters and authority commanded respect.”

Reluctant Ruler

Young Marcus Aurelius. The adopted hier to the throne was reluctant to take power. The boy became a keen Stoic. (source: Wikimedia)

Despite having the honour of being Rome’s last good emperor, Marcus was unhappy when he was made a “Caesar”, given the role as heir to (and adopted by) Antonius Pius.

Many would find the idea of this absurd — why would anybody turn down the inheritance of absolute power and riches beyond your wildest dreams?

But being emperor, a position that was impossible to abdicate from — was a double-edged sword.

The average time in power of Roman emperors was short thanks to murderous usurpers. Some Emperors lasted mere months in the hot seat before being dispatched by a conspiracy.

It was not just the fear of his own life that could have made Marcus reluctant. The young man was already a keen Stoic. Power and riches were potentially an obstacle to Stoic virtue.

But how Marcus coped with his role is the reason he thrived in it, and why to this day people seek comfort in his writings.

Thinking Like a Stoic

A new book by Donald Robertson, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, throws light on how the ideas in Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations acted as psychological strategies to help the sage-emperor cope and thrive in the role that was bestowed upon him.

Robertson is a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist and draws parallels between therapy techniques and Stoic wisdom.

Not all the parallels the author draws are new, but Robertson does add a great deal of depth through biographical details and drawing on his own psycho-therapeutic expertise. The picture he paints is of a vulnerable man, not a philosophical saint, and nor particularly a hero.

Cognitive behavioural therapy has roots in Stoicism. One of its first practitioners, Albert Ellis, took inspiration from the Greek philosopher Epictetus.

Behavioural therapy challenges debilitating cognitive distortions, and this is essentially the approach Epictetus took to finding “a tranquil flow of life.”

The philosopher did not write (as far as we know), and his teachings were recorded for posterity by a promising student, Arrian of Nicomedia.

Epictetus’s ideas stem from the central Stoic notion that while you are not able to control your circumstances, you can control your emotional response to our circumstances.

The Stoics demonstrate that while we try to control external events but lose control of our thoughts and emotions, we have little to no control of the former and full control over the latter.

Epictetus, for example, teaches us that it is our thoughts that cause injury to us, not the behaviour of other people:

“When then a man irritates you, you must know that it is your own opinion which has irritated you.” (from the Enchiridion or “hand book”)

Arrian of Nicomedia went on to a high-office political career and was close to the emperor Hadrian, Marcus’s adoptive grandfather. He may well have met the child Marcus. Students like Arrian disseminated Epictetus’s teachings throughout the Roman world. The sage had a considerable influence over Roman philosophy despite being born a slave.

So it’s no surprise that Marcus learned a great deal from the teachings of Epictetus. Marcus’s Meditations quote Epictetus extensively, the Emperor found a great deal of solace in the older philosopher’s words. Echoing Epictetus, he wrote:

“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

Robertson demonstrates how Epictetus’s methods could be considered pre-modern therapeutic techniques.

By revealing the links between the historical Stoics and the science behind their methods to attain tranquillity, Robertson’s book shows Roman Stoicism to be more akin to a methodology than a dogma.

Stoicism helped Marcus Aurelius cope with fear, anger, and grief. This is not a result of “knowing” facts, but actually changing the way he thought. It’s not about what you know, but how you think. Stoic philosophy orientates the mind to tranquillity.