Stoic Emperor Meditates on a Royal Feathered Cap

While organizing my book shelf of Roman emperors over the weekend, I took a look at King Charles’ coronation and couldn’t get over Princess Anne’s red plume hat. I suppose it could have been a touch bigger but then the Brits are always so low key.

Speaking of low key, it did make me think of my favorite emperor, Marcus Aurelius, who on his return to Rome after a successful war campaign wore the civic dress of a Roman magistrate with a crown of myrtle on his head. But even that was too much for him, as he certainly would have preferred his simple cloak of the type worn by everyday citizens.

“Adorn yourself with simplicity and modesty and be indifferent to things. Love mankind. Follow God,” he wrote in his private diary. 

Marcus, who placed great importance on the power of mind, was a paradox—being at once the world’s most powerful leader as emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 CE, while at the same time being a simple and humble man as well as a highly educated philosopher. 

“You have power over your mind but not external events,” he wrote, “realize this and you will find great strength.”  

Marcus, one of the most important stoic philosophers, penned his private journal “Meditations” while hunkered down in a tent during a campaign in Central Europe c. AD 171-175 during a long, discouraging war. It is now considered one of the bedrocks of stoic philosophy. Its words served as a personal guide on coping with events beyond one’s control—like war or, perhaps, in today’s world being unceremoniously seated behind Princess Anne’s disruptive red feathered cap—and advocated the strict control of emotions and the cultivation of a calm indifference to external affairs. 

Living a virtuous life leads to happiness he wrote, and “happiness depends on the quality of your thoughts.”

Like most philosophers, Marcus was a keen observer of life. If he could have been brought back to life to watch King Charles’ coronation on TV, and had he seen that spirited horse as it broke ranks, it would confirm his view that, “The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing,” because no matter how much planning or pomp goes into an event or even a war, there is always a wild card out there. Life is not a smooth flow but a path with many unexpected twists and turns, and many of them can take us to the mat. He would probably say…control your thoughts and get back on the dance floor! 

For more wisdom from Marcus Aurelius, look for my upcoming brief lessons from “Meditations” in Fort Biblio’s U of You.