784 Marcus Aurelius: Philosopher-King (with William O. Stephens)

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Arts, Books

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2026

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the fourth century B.C., Plato famously posited a philosopher-king as the ideal ruler for his imagined Republic. Five hundred years later, the Roman Empire was led by Marcus Aurelius, the man often viewed as the best example of this Platonic ideal. In this episode, Jacke talks to William O. Stephens about his book Marcus Aurelius: Philosopher-King, which guides readers through the fascinating life, writings, and legacy of Rome's great emperor philosopher. The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Help support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/literature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglomerate Network and Lit Hub Radio.
0:09.1	Looking to strengthen your health and well-being, tune in to the Dr. Tina show, one of Apple Podcast's top alternative health shows.
0:16.0	I'm Dr. Tina Moore, naturopathic physician and chiropractor, and I cover topics like metabolic health,
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0:26.3	nonsense with a science-backed approach to empower you to improve your health and resilience.
0:30.9	New episodes every Thursday, produced by Drake Peterson and Wellness Loud.
0:34.9	Hello, in the 4th century BC, Plato wrote the Republic, in which he famously
0:39.5	posited an ideal form of government, ruled not by democratically elected leaders, but by philosopher
0:46.3	kings. Five hundred years later, the Romans were ruled by such a figure. By day, he oversaw
0:53.4	an empire, and at night, he recorded his thoughts.
0:58.3	What should we make of the Stoic philosopher slash emperor, Marcus Aurelius? An expert in
1:05.7	Stoic philosophy and in the life of Marcus Aurelius, William O. Stevens, will help us answer that question today
1:13.6	on the history of literature.
1:22.5	Okay, here we go. Welcome to the podcast. I'm Jack Wilson. Why did Plato want a philosopher king to be the ruler of his ideal society? I snickered at that. I'm a good snickerer when I want to be. I think I literally laughed out loud when I read that the first time that I encountered Plato's Republic.
1:45.5	Oh, so the philosopher thinks that the philosophers should be made philosopher kings and be put in
1:52.7	charge of everything.
1:54.8	No doubt the plumber thinks the world would run better with plumber kings in charge and so on.
2:00.6	But of course, my Snickers were misplaced.
2:04.9	They were unfounded Snickers.
2:08.2	I owe Plato, an apology.
2:10.9	His view of the proper form of government was more than just,
2:14.8	put me in coach.
	...

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