Among the Ancients II: Marcus Aurelius

What happens when the techniques of realist literature become absorbed into our understanding of real life? And what would it mean to try to depict that experience in fiction? In Dag Solstad’s Shyness and Dignity (1994), a middle-aged teacher, Elias Rukla, is teaching Ibsen’s The ...  Show more

In 1737, Samuel Johnson and his student David Garrick decided to walk to London from Lichfield in search of opportunity. It worked out well for both of them, but for many of the large number who made their hopeful journey to the capital from all over the country in the 18th centu ...  Show more

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 ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the man who, according to Machiavelli, was the last of the Five Good Emperors. Marcus Aurelius, 121 to 180 AD, has long been known as a model of the philosopher king, a Stoic who, while on military campaigns, compiled ideas on how best to live his ...  Show more

📖 Episode Transcripts in Link Below ⬇️ Today, we’ll dive into the life and philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor known as the last of the Five Good Emperors and the author of one of history’s most influential philosophical works, the Meditations. https://patreon.com/H ...  Show more

He's known as Rome’s philosopher-emperor and faced plague, rebellion and war in the East. Yet Marcus Aurelius ruled with a pen as much as a sword, finding peace in philosophy which still inspires the world today.In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Profess ...  Show more