Meditation in a Time of War: On Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations”

Emperor Marcus Aurelius spent most of the last decade of his life (170-180 AD) at war. In 166 AD, Germanic tribes invaded Roman territory in Upper Pannonia (roughly modern-day Austria) on the northeastern edge of the empire. The ensuing Markoman Wars (166-180 CE) kept Marx away from Rome for many years. This decade of struggle was also the period in which he wrote most, if not all, of his philosophical notes that we know as “Meditations.”

Headlines that appear to belong to Marcus’ original manuscript set the composition of two of the twelve books in specific military outposts. War pervades the text elsewhere as well. He once described a perfected soul as an “impregnable spiritual fortress.” He also compares life to “fighting in a foreign war” and shows us scenes of sieges and severed body parts.

During these years, Marcus also fought a civil war. On the one hand, there were misunderstandings that led to unhappiness and wrong actions. Another was the great goal of the Stoics: to live in harmony with the nature that governs the universe. We can imagine him living in a tent or other temporary structure, stealing time in the morning before the war started or in the evening after the war to add to his notebook. In several entries, Marcus tells himself to repeat a set speech in his head when he first wakes up. This suggests that he was practicing in the morning. In contrast, the Stoic Seneca set aside time in the evening to reflect on the day. Marcus’ sessions seemed to include a kind of meditation. He encourages himself to retreat inward as often as possible.

One of the ancient Greek words Marcus uses in these sessions is: anasisliterally refers to a vacation. In philosophical works, it means retreating into the mind from one’s body and the outside world. Marcus explains that meditation is better at refreshing a person than a literal vacation to the countryside or the beach. No one can retreat more than his own soul in search of a calming, trouble-free vacation. This is especially true if there is something within you that takes you to tranquility as soon as you start thinking deeply.

One of his rules for his sessions was that he was not allowed to bring in other people’s books. Marcus hints that relying on the books of philosophical authorities can compromise the purity of experience.

One entry on “Meditation” (4.30) describes Marcus’ meditation process in two stages. First, you need to check yourself and see if there is anything disturbing you. If it is the wrongdoing of another, one should remember that help and love for one’s fellow man is an expectation built into his human design. If he feels that some misfortune is tormenting him, he should encourage himself to accept it. “Because it is God-given from the interweaving force of cause and effect.” That causal force is nature, the living system of the universe. There’s nothing wrong with that, so we should appreciate and accept whatever it brings into our lives.

Marcus then invites himself, after checking himself and removing all distractions in his mind, to move on to meditation on Stoic principles. They should be concise and basic, he writes, capable of washing away all his pain and returning him to the situation he was facing before, free of resentment. Below is an example of the principle. “The right thing to do is to do what makes oneself just, restrained, manly, and independent.” In Marcus’s understanding, this “good” is truly good, in contrast to the ephemeral and irrelevant things pursued by unenlightened people.

Although there are many good qualities to display (e.g., generosity, temperance, candor, etc.), Marcus emphasizes that the main purpose of a meditation session is simply to take action. He succinctly summarizes what that means. “Right action occurs when the initial impetus and effort itself culminates in an act of service to humanity.” Marcus believes that all human beings, in addition to being citizens of their home countries, belong to a larger sociopolitical republic.Coinnear in Greek). Acts of justice are acts that benefit both the individual nation and the commonwealth of which we all belong. Yes, Marcus enjoyed the meditation session. (He calls them “refreshing.”) But he emphasizes that this self-centered sense of security is just a byproduct of the process of finding satisfaction in helping others.

Marcus portrays himself as an aspirational person who is forever striving to improve himself. He admits that his movement away from distraction and toward good behavior is a gradual process. Sometimes he is patient with himself. Sometimes he gets frustrated with the lack of progress. Still, he knows what he’s working toward. He repeatedly holds up as his ideal the perfected Stoic personality, “whose whole body is dyed with the color of justice, and who accepts with all his heart what is given to him.” This example focuses on performing one good deed after another without expecting praise or other rewards.

In other words, while Marx was surrounded and besieged by Germanic tribes, he fought calmly every day to shut out the distractions that were trying to invade him. After the battle, when he returned to the safety of the fortress of Carnuntum, he returned to his own mind, where he sought to build an impregnable fortress for the armies of greed, lust, and injustice.

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Aaron Poochgian is a poet, classical scholar, and translator who lives and writes in New York City. His work has been published in newspapers and magazines such as: Financial Times, New York Review of Books, and Poetry magazine. he is the author of Four Walks in Central Park: A Poetic Guide to Central Parkhis translations include: stung by love (Penguin UK). His new translation is of Marcus Aurelius’ meditation. Learn more here aaronpoochigian.com.