The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius - College of Stoic Philosophers
The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius - College of Stoic Philosophers
The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius - College of Stoic Philosophers
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28 LIFE OF THE EMPEROR<br />
any persecutions but as I seek the truth and am sure<br />
;<br />
that they are false, I leave him to bear whatever blame is<br />
his due. I add that it is quite certain that Antoninus<br />
did not derive any <strong>of</strong> -his Ethical principles from a religion<br />
<strong>of</strong> which he knew nothing.<br />
1<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no doubt that the emperor s Reflections<br />
or his<br />
Meditations, as they are generally named, is a genuine<br />
work. In the first book he speaks <strong>of</strong> himself, his family,<br />
and his teachers ;<br />
and in other books he mentions himself.<br />
Suidas (v. Mapico?) notices a work <strong>of</strong> Antoninus in twelve<br />
books, which he names the * conduct <strong>of</strong> his own life, and<br />
he cites the book under several words in his Dictionary,<br />
giving the emperor s name, but not the title <strong>of</strong> the work.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are also passages cited by Suidas from Antoninus<br />
without mention <strong>of</strong> the emperor<br />
s name. <strong>The</strong> true title<br />
<strong>of</strong> the work is unknown. Xylander who published the<br />
first edition <strong>of</strong> this book (Zurich, 1558, 8vo, with a Latin<br />
version)<br />
used a manuscript, which contained the twelve<br />
books, but it is not known where the manuscript<br />
is now.<br />
<strong>The</strong> only other complete manuscript which is known to<br />
exist is in the Vatican library, but it has no title and no<br />
inscriptions <strong>of</strong> the several books the eleventh :<br />
only has<br />
the inscription Mdpxov avTotcpdropo? marked with an<br />
asterisk.<br />
<strong>The</strong> other Vatican manuscripts and the three<br />
Florentine contain only excerpts from the emperor s book.<br />
All the titles <strong>of</strong> the excerpts nearly agree with that which<br />
Xylander prefixed to his edition, MdpKov Avrwvivov<br />
Avr<strong>of</strong>cpdropos TWV ets eavrbv /9t/3Xta t/8. This title has<br />
been used by all subsequent editors. We cannot tell<br />
whether Antoninus divided his work into books or some<br />
body else did it. If<br />
the inscriptions at the end <strong>of</strong> the first<br />
1<br />
Dr. F. C. Baur in his work entitled Das Christen/hum, imd die<br />
Christliche Kirche der drei serlen Jalirhiniderte, etc., has examined<br />
this question with great good sense and fairness, and I believe he<br />
has stated the truth as near as our authorities enable us to<br />
reach it.
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