ABSTRACT
Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is one of the most widely read works of ancient literature. Among the many reasons to explain this interest is its careful, reflective stance on the dilemmas and difficulties that confront us all in everyday life. In other words, Meditations takes an unashamedly pragmatic approach. It offers a much more intelligible and accessible form of philosophy for those unfamiliar with the thought of the major philosophers in the last four centuries. Marcus's paternal grandfather had married Rupilia Faustina, who was in the patrician class, one of many levels in the fine-grained social hierarchy of ancient Rome. This crucial family connection to the aristocracy had the greatest impact on his life after, of course, the Emperor Hadrian himself. Marcus lost his father at the age of three in 124 c.e., but Meditations contains passages expressing deep gratitude for and awareness of his reputation as a statesman and as a person.
