The Speeches and Sayings of Marcus Aurelius

Bits and pieces beyond the Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

Emperor Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire from 161 to 180 AD and is remembered as one of Rome’s wisest and most benevolent rulers. He also left behind a wonderful book of philosophical thought, the Meditations, which is considered one of the fundamental texts of ancient Stoicism. The Meditations, however, is not Marcus’s only extant written work. A number of brief and fragmentary writings and quotations have survived from antiquity. These are generally grouped under the categories of Speeches and Sayings. Both are included in The Complete Works of Marcus Aurelius, an ebook published by the Delphi Classics, which is the edition that I am reviewing.

The Speeches of Marcus Aurelius consist of three brief orations. Two of them concern a rebellion led by Avidius Cassius in 175 AD. The third speech purports to be “The Last Words of Marcus,” spoken on his deathbed. One of the Cassius speeches was written down by Marcus and sent as a letter to the Senate, which speaks in favor of its veracity. The other two speeches are related second-hand, perhaps by first-hand observers or perhaps by writers long after the fact. The deathbed speech certainly reads as if it were embellished with the perfect eloquence possessed by dying characters in tragedian dramas. None of the speeches contain any overtly Stoic content, but they do illustrate Marcus’s good qualities as a leader, such as the two addresses regarding the revolt of Cassius, in which Marcus strongly emphasizes forgiveness and leniency over vindictiveness and harsh punishment.

The Sayings of Marcus Aurelius consist of 22 numbered paragraphs. These are written in an anecdotal third-person style similar to the Analects of Confucius. Each paragraph relates that on such-and-such an occasion, when addressing so-and-so, Marcus said . . . and then follows a quotation or aphorism from the master. It is unclear whether these sayings were gathered by an ancient author, or whether they are second-hand quotations selected from a number of ancient texts. The anecdotes collected represent a series of historical scenes in the life of Marcus, and the words he delivers often relate directly to that context. A few of the sayings can be taken to have broader philosophical meaning, touching upon Stoicism, as Marcus reveals his humble nature, his desire to be a good leader, and his brave attitude toward facing death. Also lumped in with the Sayings is a letter Marcus wrote to the Common Assembly of Asia, in which he censures the violent persecution of Christians and urges leniency instead.

There is nothing in the Speeches or Sayings that in any way competes with the insight or profundity of the Meditations. These writings are interesting in their own way, however, more for historical and biographical content than for philosophy. The Speeches and Sayings are unnecessary to an understanding of Marcus as a Stoic, so if Stoicism is you’re primary interest in the man then you’d be better off rereading the Meditations. On the other hand, for those completists who wish to cover the complete works of Marcus Aurelius, reading these brief works will likely take up less than an hour of your time.