ILVANUS: Perhaps Lamia Silvanus, a son-in-law of Marcus. (10.31) OCRATES: Athenian philosopher (469–399 B.C.), teacher of PLATO. He spent most of his life in his native city, and served with distinction in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta. Although associated with several members of the aristocratic junta that ruled Athens after its defeat in 404, he refused to participate in their atrocities. He was executed by the Athenians on a charge of impiety following the restoration of democracy; Plato’s Apology purports to give his speech at the trial. (1.16, 3.3, 3.6, 6.47, 7.19, 7.66, 8.3, 11.23, 11.25, 11.28, 11.39) OCRATICUS: Unknown; the comparison with SATYRON does not help identify him. (10.31) TERTINIUS: Not certainly identified. Tacitus mentions an army officer of this name in the reign of Tiberius. But the reference to Baiae (a Roman resort on the Bay of Naples) suggests a more likely candidate a generation or so later: the wealthy Neapolitan physician Quintus Stertinius, mentioned by Pliny the Elder (Natural History 29.7). (12.27) ANDASIS: Philosopher mentioned along with one Marcianus; neither is otherwise known. Some have suggested a scribe’s error for Basilides, listed among Marcus’s teachers by other sources. (1.6) ELAUGES: Apparently a lesser disciple of SOCRATES, unless the reference is to the son of PYTHAGORAS by this name. (7.66) HEODOTUS: Unknown, but he and BENEDICTA were most likely household slaves. (1.17) HEOPHRASTUS: Philosopher (c. 371–c. 287 B.C.) who succeeded Aristotle as head of the Peripatetic school. (2.10) HRASEA: Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus (d. 66), Roman aristocrat (consul 56) and father-in-law of HELVIDIUS Priscus. His opposition to the regime of NERO (by whom he was eventually forced to commit suicide) was informed by Stoic philosophy and in particular by the example of the younger CATO
(2), of whom he wrote a biography. (1.14) IBERIUS: Roman emperor (14–37) who succeeded AUGUSTUS. Late in his reign he withdrew to a private estate on the island of Capri; his alleged excesses there are recorded in the biography of him by Suetonius. (12.27) RAJAN: Marcus Ulpius Traianus, Roman general and emperor (98–117). (4.32) ROPAEOPHORUS: Perhaps a contemporary senator named in an inscription from Perinthus. (10.31) ELIUSRUFUS: Addressee of one of FRONTO’s letters, but otherwise unknown. (12.27) ERUS (1): Marcus Annius Verus (d. 138), grandfather of Marcus. He was three times consul (the last two in 121 and 126); he also served as city prefect of Rome about this time. After the death of his wife he evidently took a concubine who helped raise Marcus. (1.1, 1.17, 9.21) ERUS (2): Marcus Annius Verus, father of Marcus and husband of LUCILLA. He died sometime between 130 and 135. (1.2, 8.25) ERUS (3): Lucius Aurelius Verus (130–169), son of HADRIAN (2)’s intended successor, Lucius Aelius. Originally named Lucius Ceionius Commodus, he was adopted along with Marcus by Antoninus Pius and on Antoninus’s death became co-emperor with Marcus. He was entrusted with the conduct of the Parthian War, and campaigned with Marcus on the northern frontier before his sudden death on the way back to Rome. (1.17, 8.37) ESPASIAN: Roman emperor (69–79). His reign represented a period of stability after the power struggle that followed the death of NERO, but he came into conflict with some members of the senatorial class, notably the Stoic HELVIDIUS Priscus. (4.32) OLESUS: Traditionalsurname in the Valerius clan, which produced a number of figures prominent in early historical accounts. Which one Marcus has in
mind is uncertain. (4.33) ANTHIPPE: Wife of SOCRATES and proverbially a shrew. (11.28) ENOCRATES: Platonic philosopher and head of the Academy at the end of the fourth century B.C. (6.13) ENOPHON: Probably a contemporary doctor mentioned by Galen. (10.31) EUS: Sky god and head of the Greek pantheon; Marcus refers to him only rarely and normally prefers a vaguer formulation such as “God” or “the gods.” (4.23, 5.7, 5.8, 11.8)
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR GREGORY HAYS is assistant professor of classics at the University of Virginia. He has published articles and reviews on various ancient writers and is currentlycompleting a translation and critical study of the mythographer Fulgentius.
THE MODERN LIBRARY EDITORIAL BOARD Maya Angelou DanielJ. Boorstin A. S. Byatt Caleb Carr Christopher Cerf Ron Chernow Shelby Foote Stephen Jay Gould Vartan Gregorian Richard Howard Charles Johnson Jon Krakauer Edmund Morris Joyce Carol Oates Elaine Pagels John Richardson Salman Rushdie Oliver Sacks
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2002 Modern Library Edition Introduction and notes copyright © 2002 by Gregory Hays All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Modern Library, a division of RandomHouse, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by RandomHouse of Canada Limited, Toronto. MODERN LIBRARYand the TORCHBEARER Design are registered trademarks of RandomHouse, Inc. LIBRARYOF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome, 121–180. [Meditations. English] Meditations / Marcus Aurelius; translated, and with an introduction, by Gregory Hays. p. cm. e-ISBN 1-58836-173-X 1. Ethics. 2. Stoics. 3. Life. I. Hays, Gregory. II. Title. B580.H3 M3713 2002 188—dc21 2001057947 Modern Library website address: www.modernlibrary.com v1.0