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When I read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, the book was written in second person point of view (using you/your vs I/my or they/theirs). It sounded like the fo
by jmort253 3y ago
When I read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, the book was written in second person point of view (using you/your vs I/my or they/theirs).
It sounded like the former emperor was talking directly to me, but later I found he was writing to himself. He never intended for his works to be published.
With that in mind, it may be possible the blogger, Aaron Francis, in this case is also speaking to himself.
- joecot 3y agoAs an aside, when I see people beat themselves up for not being able to face their struggles with the stoic reflection of Marcus Aurelius, I want to remind them that unlike them, Mr Aurelius was extremely wealthy, one of the most powerful men in the world, and absolutely blasted on opium for most of his day.
- jmort253 3y agoI didn't know about the opium. He mentioned not getting addicted to things in the book. I bet he was talking about all of the things he had done wrong in his life. Do what I say not what I do.
- joecot 3y agoRomans didn't consider opium an addiction as much as a medicine. Same as many of the drugs we now consider illicit. Marcus Aurelius was taking opium every day for "stomach issues" (krohns or similar perhaps?) and "nerves".
- renewiltord 3y agoInteresting. Like how people are absolutely juiced to the gills on caffeine these days, riding a stimulant Shai Hulud across the sands of time.
- kaba0 3y agoCaffeine though really is a jackpot for humanity, it has realistically speaking no negative side effects. Even serious physical symptoms from withdrawal are basically just a week of headaches and other minor things.
- foobiekr 3y agoDisrupted sleep, lack of REM sleep, poor attentiveness, …
- kaba0 3y agoThat is very dependent on the consumed quantity, and the time of consumption. And is nothing compared to the next most frequently used drugs, alcohol and nicotine, hell it has plenty of positive effects. So my initial statement I believe still stands that humanity could hardly happen upon another substance that they could use in such a huge amounts with minimal negatives.
- foobiekr 3y agoYou could say the same thing for most amphetamines. I don't think caffeine is particularly harmful, but it is a huge stretch to paint it as purely beneficial and without side effects. As a point of fact most people getting their "morning jolt" are just treating the side effects of extended caffeine usage - they are physically addicted. About once a year I spend a month doing no caffeine. Every single year it is quite illuminating to do through first withdrawal and then to experience the first cup of coffee. I recommend it, and you might change some of your thoughts on caffeine if you do this.
- kpennell 3y agoFWIW, I kept reading it affects deep sleep, not rem.
- Dalewyn 3y agoCoffee's great, but sometimes I wish I could route the increased number of calls from Mother Nature to a voice machine.
- dizhn 3y agoIs it known what the dosage would have been? I read elsewhere before that though they drank wine all the time, its alcohol content was very low compared to today.
- ang_cire 3y ago[flagged]
- SanderNL 3y agoThat sounds like it would complicate life, not make it easier? His wealth and power is predicated on him being the leader of the friggin’ Roman Empire. I don’t see that as an easy life. Being an emperor and even trying to do a good job is damn near impossible in my eyes. Lot of respect for that. My tiny life sometimes overwhelms me already.
- latexr 3y ago> My tiny life sometimes overwhelms me already. Because you (presumably) have to deal with every tiny thing in your life. Even having to buy and cook food can feel overwhelming when you’re busy trying to accomplish other things. Marcus Aurelius had slaves. He was the emperor. He did not have to worry about the multitude of minutiae required just to continue to exist. When it seems to you rich people are able to achieve more, remember that’s because they need to do less. If you did not have to think about basic necessities, you too could do more of what you dream about.
- darkerside 3y agoManaging people is a lot more complicated than you seem to realize
- SamoyedFurFluff 3y ago[flagged]
- SanderNL 3y agoNo, because I am less capable. It’s sometimes simple like that. He wasn’t “rich people” like some Russian oligarch. He had shit to do and deep moral obligations. Millions of lives depended on it. Things of vast strategic importance stretching both thousands of miles and many decades. Slaves don’t manage your long term ambitions and juggle your various mental and moral anguishes. They keep your house clean and provide you with food, sure. But to be honest, as a rich Westerner, I’m not too far off that. He didn’t dream about standing knees deep in foreign horse shit managing the nitty gritty of brutal wars for the continued existence of an empire that looked solely at you. All this could be handled with great nonchalance and incompetency which would have made his life relatively easy. But he decided to try and do a good job, now that’s something to take serious. I get that “rich people” have some leverage, but this is another thing altogether.
- monissiddiqui 3y agoSword of Damocles is a bitch and a half. Access to infinite pleasure is ineffective in the face of paranoia and misery since they don't cancel eachother out i.e they are not collinear vectors in mind-space. Having access to Aurelius' cleaned up mind chatter is a blessing.
- Zealotux 3y agoWhen Marcus Aurelius' status gets mentioned as a counterpoint to his philosophy, I like to remind people of Epictetus, which, born a slave, arguably lived the very opposite life of Aurelius and still ended up with a similar outlook on life.
- aarondf 3y agoIt's me. I am that blogger. You're 100% right and weirdly, that did not occur to me until today. Insightful comment!