Close Readings: Marcus Aurelius

The LRB Podcast

London Review of Books

Society & Culture

4.4 • 581 Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2024

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on the LRB Podcast, a free episode from one of our Close Readings series. For their final conversation Among the Ancients, Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones turn to the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Said by Machiavelli to be the last of the ‘five good emperors’ who ruled Rome for most of the second century CE, Marcus oversaw devastating wars on the frontiers, a deadly plague and economic turmoil. The writings known in English as The Meditations, and in Latin as ‘to himself’, were composed in Greek in the last decade of Marcus’ life. They reveal his preoccupation with illness, growing old, death and posthumous reputation, as he urges himself not to be troubled by such transient things. Readings by Hazel Holder. To listen to more Among the Ancients and all other Close Readings series in full, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadings Or purchase a gift subscription: https://lrb.me/audiogifts Further reading in the LRB: Mary Beard: Was he quite ordinary? https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n14/mary-beard/was-he-quite-ordinary Emily Wilson: I have gorgeous hair https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n11/emily-wilson/i-have-gorgeous-hair Shadi Bartsch: Dying to Make a Point https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v29/n22/shadi-bartsch/dying-to-make-a-point M.F. Burnyeat: Excuses for Madness https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v24/n20/m.f.-burnyeat/excuses-for-madness Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the London Review of Books podcast. I'm Thomas Jones.
0:19.1	For this episode, as it's Christmas, we're putting out a free episode from one of our close readings subscription podcast. I'm Thomas Jones. For this episode, as it's Christmas, we're putting out a free
0:22.1	episode from one of our Close Reading's subscription podcasts. This is the last episode of Among the
0:27.8	Ancients in which Emily Wilson and I have been looking at a series of Greek and Roman texts from the
0:33.0	classical world. And if you're still looking for a last-minute Christmas present for anyone, it's not
0:38.6	too late to give them a close-reading subscription. That includes full access to the Close
0:43.0	Readings Archives, plus all of next year's series starting in January. There'll be more details
0:48.1	about those in the description and at the end of this episode. Hello and welcome to the 12th and
0:52.9	last episode in this second series of
0:55.6	Among the Ancients, a close readings podcast from the London Review of Books. I'm Thomas Jones
1:00.2	and I'm joined as ever by Emily Wilson. Hello Emily. Hi Tom. And today we're talking about
1:05.0	the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and his book that's usually known in English as
1:10.7	The Meditations,
1:11.6	will be using the translation by Gregory Hayes, published by the modern library.
1:16.6	It's sad to be coming to the end of the series, though Marcus Aurelius would no doubt advise us to bear the sadness with indifference that all things must pass.
1:25.6	Marcus was said by Machiavelli and Gibbon and many others to be the last of a run of five
1:32.3	so-called good emperors who ruled Rome for most of the second century CE.
1:37.5	Machiavelli was making a distinction in his discourses on Livy as a right between those who
1:41.7	came to the throne by birth like Tiberius and N who were bad, and those who were adopted by their predecessor, like Marcus Aurelius. So who was Marcus Aurelius, Emily, and how did he come to be emperor? Yes, well, as you say, it was a one of quote-unquote good emperors, meaning emperors who had good relationships with the Senate. The senatorial cast is, of course, the history writing class. So they're the ones who wrote the text that said
2:06.1	these are the good ones, as opposed to the emperors who are popular with the common people who
2:10.9	didn't write texts that were preserved and then read by Machiavelli and Gibbon.
2:15.1	So the five were Nerva, whose adopted son Trajan took over,
	...

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