Preview

Marcus Aurelius The Meditations: Marcus Cornelius Fronto

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1252 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Marcus Aurelius The Meditations: Marcus Cornelius Fronto
After analyzing the epistolary correspondence between young Marcus Aurelius and his teacher Marcus Cornelius Fronto and the Chapter One handout from adult Marcus Aurelius, it is evident that similarities exist between Marcus Aurelius and me in regards to the formation of our identity. In Marcus Aurelius', “ The Meditations,” this piece demonstrates his reflection on his life during the Second Sophistic period and its influence on his identity from birth to his time as the emperor of the Roman Empire. His meditation is an immense indicator of growth that arises from his life journey into becoming a man when compared to his younger self in the letters exchanged with his magister, Fronto. Reflecting on my own upbringing and its influence on the …show more content…
Marcus Aurelius received intimate, homestay-style education from wise magisters during his life with the end goal of preparing a knowledgeable emperor worthy of ruling over the Roman Empire. Having received a public education my entire educational career until this point in my life, I am grateful for the individuals who perceived a lot of potential in my being and went out of their way to provide me guidance and orientation to become the best version of myself. Marcus Aurelius was surrounded by a variety of individuals who guided him and empowered him as he dealt with the immense social responsibilities that came with being expected to become the emperor of an immense empire like Rome. In terms of my own place within the K-Plan goal, as I almost come towards the end of my Sophomore year, I am confident in the intellectual position I find myself at this moment. Although I did experience some obstacles within my journey that really made me question the validity and effectiveness of my habitus, through the help of amazing individuals at Kalamazoo College I am at a stage in which I am employing the goals stated on the College website to the research projects I am a part of in campus and my overall educational experience. I am looking forward to putting in practice my habitus at this point in my life to my future Study Abroad or Study Away experience which would definitely convey my growth as similarly demonstrated through Marcus Aurelius’s correspondence between him and Fronto, and his Meditations at a later period in his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Agricola’s pre-military life and early military life affected his attributes and shaped his future to give the qualities for success. Before his first birthday the Emperor ordered for the death of his senator father because of his refusal to prosecute the Emperor’s second cousin, this left Agricola fatherless with only the support of his mother to nurture him to maturity and an early influential reference of what happens to those who don't obey their superiors.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Titus Flavius Vespasian was well known for restoring peace and stability to an empire in disarray following the death of Nero in A.D. 68. In the process he established the Flavian dynasty as the legitimate successor to the imperial throne.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    The aim of this essay is to discuss whether the death of Julius Caesar by acquaintances Marcus Brutus and Cassius Longius was due to political or personal motives. The focus will lay in understanding Rome’s political situation at the time, evaluating Caesar’s policies and the possible explanations resulting in Caesar’s assassination. The essay will begin by explaining the political situation in Rome at the time in order to understand the tensions between Caesar and the Senate. The concluding part of the investigation…

    • 2263 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marcus Aurelius was born on April 20, 121 AD into a family of royalty. His uncle and adoptive father, Antoninus Pius, was the emperor of Rome. Aurelius, too, was trained from birth to be a great ruler like his father. At age eleven, he dedicated himself to religion, although he considered philosophy to be the "true, inward" religion, one which did not require ceremonies necessary in others. He was appointed by Emperor Hadrian to priesthood in 129. The Emperor also supervised his education, which was with the best professors of literature and philosophy of the time. From his early twenties, he deserted his other studies for philosophy. In 161, Marcus Aurelius ascended the throne and shared his imperial power with his adopted brother Lucius…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Marcus Aurelius would have had mixed feelings about the collapse of the Roman Empire in the mid-to-late third century AD. An admirer of change, Marcus would have accepted the direction that the Empire was heading in, but not necessarily through the murderous means in which it transpired. He also was an enormous aficionado of living as close to in accordance with nature as was possible and not enjoying an overly lavish lifestyle. Few of the Emperors during the mid-to-late third century AD were overtly careless with their reigns, and most were entirely focused on maintaining defense. According to Aurelius, nothing could be more in accordance with nature than death, or in this case a violent death, which was the fate of every emperor that took…

    • 2049 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Heraclitus believed that fire is the basic element of the universe because of its ever-changing nature and that the reality of all mirrors this idea. According to Moore and Bruder (2008, p. 26,) “There is no reality, save the reality of change: permanence is an illusion.” He viewed change not as a random occurrence, but a determination by the harmonious balance of opposites through a cosmic order called the logos (Moore & Bruder, 2008, p. 26.)…

    • 289 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The image that Gaius Octavius Thurinus, Gaius Julius Caesar, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, the same man one and all, wanted to portray in his book, the Res Gestae, was one of a patriotic, religious, lawful, chosen by both the senate and the citizens of Rome, modest, generous, independent, benevolent, successful leader, worldly recognised and travelled Roman citizen. Augustus wanted to portray himself as the ideal Roman, one to look up to, one to be a pillar of the old ways and customs. He wanted to be the Pater Patriae, or “Father of the country.” He succeeded, by viewing the writings in his book, indeed portray himself as an ideal Roman for the rest of the world to see.…

    • 1329 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chapter 17 Roman Art

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The first work of art I found was earliest art which was from 120,000 BCE-100 CE. IT had the most depicting animals including large and powerful creatures that suggested the artists desire to imitate the actual appearance of the animals represented. Giving the animals a sense of volume by using gradation of color. It also created sculptural objects small and carved figures of people mostly of women and animals. It reflected a more abstract and less naturalistic approach to representation.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A Stoic is a person who is seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by joy, grief, pleasure, or pain. One who is not touched by the outside world seem to live inside themselves always thinking that today might be the last. Stoics detach themselves from things of this worlds including objects, people, and to a certain extent their own lives. In Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations and Epictetus’ Discourses they both explain how to properly be a stoic, learning to deny their feelings, respect themselves and nature, and detach themselves from the useless things of this world.…

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Twelve Caesars

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In “Twelve Caesars”, Suetonius writes the anecdotal memoirs of the 12 kings of the Roman Empire, starting from Julius Caesar all the way till Domitian. His work is unparalleled in detail and is a rich primary source on the history of Rome. Suetonius writes a detailed memoir about each of the kings, outlining in vivid detail their actions, their lives, their accession to the seat of power and their deaths. There seems to be a general mix of virtue and vice in the character of these kings. Using the real life incidents occurring in their lives, Suetonius gives the reader an idea of the different good and bad qualities of these illustrious men as emperors. These kings exhibit qualities of being modest, just, doing public good, improving and repairing the building and infrastructure of the empire and improve the administration of the empire as well as vices of cruelty, incest, extravagance, decadence and vanity. In what follows, these qualities of what constitutes a good emperor and a bad emperor will be discussed with the help of Suetonius’ biographical memoirs in Twelve Caesars.…

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Rex Analisys

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In "Oedipus Rex", Sophocles portraits one of the most intriguing and fascinating traits of the human nature: the search for truth regarding who we are and the realization of the paths reserved by our future fate.…

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marcus Brutus

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Marcus Junius Brutus, often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name.…

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Boethius’s work The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius uses the character Lady Philosophy to present the argument that justice is always served in that “the good are always rewarded and the wicked always punished” (81). I support that the argument is sound and valid through evaluation, then I continue by extrapolating Boethius’s reasoning to understand that although the nature of true reward is singular, the nature of punishment is diverse.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ara Pacis Augustae

    • 3571 Words
    • 15 Pages

    The Ara Pacis Augustae, known as the Altar of Augustan Peace, is one of the most renowned works of Roman art. Many scholars believe this specifically represents Augustus’s triumphant return from Gaul and Spain. As a result, the monument commemorates Augustus’s finest accomplishments for bringing peace in the Roman world. Consequently, the altar encompasses the theme of peace and the prosperity that occurred thereafter. Although the name of the artist remains unknown, much is known about its history. The Ara Pacis Augustae’s foundation was laid on July 4 in 13BC in which a major ceremony took place. On this day, several sacrifices were made to the state gods along with the Pax, the goddess of peace. After three and a half years of construction, the Ara Pacis was completed in 9BC.…

    • 3571 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hard Russian Life ` Marcus Aurelius' essay “On Getting Out of Bed” Marcus tells himself that he's got to get out of bed early and take up his work without resentment—especially since he's doing what he was born to do. After all, if birds do it and bees do it, why should he be grouchy about helping the universe to hum along as it ought to? Apparently, this is not encouragement enough for Marcus, who still doesn't want to get out of bed and get to work. Marcus's brain argues with him, telling him that there are limits to everything; especially things which give him pleasure. Marcus scolds himself for being too willing to exceed his limits in pleasure, but not in good actions.…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays