Written 167 A.C.E.
Translated by George Long
Book One
From my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and the government of my
temper.
From the reputation and remembrance of my father, modesty and a manly
character.
From my mother, piety and beneficence, and abstinence, not only from evil
deeds, but even from evil thoughts; and further, simplicity in my way of
living, far removed from the habits of the rich.
From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools, and to
have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man
should spend liberally.
From my governor, to be neither of the green nor of the blue party at the
games in the Circus, nor a partizan either of the Parmularius or the
Scutarius at the gladiators' fights; from him too I learned endurance of
labour, and to want little, and to work with my own hands, and not to
meddle with other people's affairs, and not to be ready to listen to
slander.
From Diognetus, not to busy myself about trifling things, and not to give
credit to what was said by miracle-workers and jugglers about incantations
and the driving away of daemons and such things; and not to breed quails
for fighting, nor to give myself up passionately to such things; and to
endure freedom of speech; and to have become intimate with philosophy; and
to have been a hearer, first of Bacchius, then of Tandasis and Marcianus;
and to have written dialogues in my youth; and to have desired a plank bed
and skin, and whatever else of the kind belongs to the Grecian discipline.
From Rusticus I received the impression that my character required
improvement and discipline; and from him I learned not to be led astray to
sophistic emulation, nor to writing on speculative matters, nor to
delivering little hortatory orations, nor to showing myself off as a man
who practises much discipline, or does benevolent acts in order to make a
display; and to abstain from rhetoric, and poetry, and fine writing; and
not to walk about in the house in my outdoor dress, nor to do other things
of the kind; and to write my letters with simplicity, like the letter
which Rusticus wrote from Sinuessa to my mother; and with respect to those
who have offended me by words, or done me wrong, to be easily disposed to
be pacified and reconciled, as soon as they have shown a readiness to be
reconciled; and to read carefully, and not to be satisfied with a
superficial understanding of a book; nor hastily to give my assent to
those who talk overmuch; and I am indebted to him for being acquainted
with the discourses of Epictetus, which he communicated to me out of his
own collection.
From Apollonius I learned freedom of will and undeviating steadiness of
purpose; and to look to nothing else, not even for a moment, except to
reason; and to be always the same, in sharp pains, on the occasion of the
loss of a child, and in long illness; and to see clearly in a living
example that the same man can be both most resolute and yielding, and not
peevish in giving his instruction; and to have had before my eyes a man
who clearly considered his experience and his skill in expounding
philosophical principles as the smallest of his merits; and from him I
learned how to receive from friends what are esteemed favours, without
being either humbled by them or letting them pass unnoticed.
From Sextus, a benevolent disposition, and the example of a family
governed in a fatherly manner, and the idea of living conformably to
nature; and gravity without affectation, and to look carefully after the
interests of friends, and to tolerate ignorant persons, and those who form
opinions without consideration: he had the power of readily accommodating
himself to all, so that intercourse with him was more agreeable than any
flattery; and at the same time he was most highly venerated by those who
associated with him: and he had the faculty both of discovering and
ordering, in an intelligent and methodical way, the principles necessary
for life; and he never showed anger or any other passion, but was entirely
free from passion, and also most affectionate; and he could express
approbation without noisy display, and he possessed much knowledge without
ostentation.
From Alexander the grammarian, to refrain from fault-finding, and not in a
reproachful way to chide those who uttered any barbarous or solecistic or
strange-sounding expression; but dexterously to introduce the very
expression which ought to have been used, and in the way of answer or
giving confirmation, or joining in an inquiry about the thing itself, not
about the word, or by some other fit suggestion.
From Fronto I learned to observe what envy, and duplicity, and hypocrisy
are in a tyrant, and that generally those among us who are called
Patricians are rather deficient in paternal affection.
From Alexander the Platonic, not frequently nor without necessity to say
to any one, or to write in a letter, that I have no leisure; nor
continually to excuse the neglect of duties required by our relation to
those with whom we live, by alleging urgent occupations.
From Catulus, not to be indifferent when a friend finds fault, even if he
should find fault without reason, but to try to restore him to his usual
disposition; and to be ready to speak well of teachers, as it is reported
of Domitius and Athenodotus; and to love my children truly.
From my brother Severus, to love my kin, and to love truth, and to love
justice; and through him I learned to know Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion,
Brutus; and from him I received the idea of a polity in which there is the
same law for all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights and
equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which
respects most of all the freedom of the governed; I learned from him also
consistency and undeviating steadiness in my regard for philosophy; and a
disposition to do good, and to give to others readily, and to cherish good
hopes, and to believe that I am loved by my friends; and in him I observed
no concealment of his opinions with respect to those whom he condemned,
and that his friends had no need to conjecture what he wished or did not
wish, but it was quite plain.
From Maximus I learned self-government, and not to be led aside by
anything; and cheerfulness in all circumstances, as well as in illness;
and a just admixture in the moral character of sweetness and dignity, and
to do what was set before me without complaining. I observed that
everybody believed that he thought as he spoke, and that in all that he
did he never had any bad intention; and he never showed amazement and
surprise, and was never in a hurry, and never put off doing a thing, nor
was perplexed nor dejected, nor did he ever laugh to disguise his
vexation, nor, on the other hand, was he ever passionate or suspicious. He
was accustomed to do acts of beneficence, and was ready to forgive, and
was free from all falsehood; and he presented the appearance of a man who
could not be diverted from right rather than of a man who had been
improved. I observed, too, that no man could ever think that he was
despised by Maximus, or ever venture to think himself a better man. He had
also the art of being humorous in an agreeable way.
In my father I observed mildness of temper, and unchangeable resolution in
the things which he had determined after due deliberation; and no
vainglory in those things which men call honours; and a love of labour and
perseverance; and a readiness to listen to those who had anything to
propose for the common weal; and undeviating firmness in giving to every
man according to his deserts; and a knowledge derived from experience of
the occasions for vigorous action and for remission. And I observed that
he had overcome all passion for boys; and he considered himself no more
than any other citizen; and he released his friends from all obligation to
sup with him or to attend him of necessity when he went abroad, and those
who had failed to accompany him, by reason of any urgent circumstances,
always found him the same. I observed too his habit of careful inquiry in
all matters of deliberation, and his persistency, and that he never
stopped his investigation through being satisfied with appearances which
first present themselves; and that his disposition was to keep his
friends, and not to be soon tired of them, nor yet to be extravagant in
his affection; and to be satisfied on all occasions, and cheerful; and to
foresee things a long way off, and to provide for the smallest without
display; and to check immediately popular applause and all flattery; and
to be ever watchful over the things which were necessary for the
administration of the empire, and to be a good manager of the expenditure,
and patiently to endure the blame which he got for such conduct; and he
was neither superstitious with respect to the gods, nor did he court men
by gifts or by trying to please them, or by flattering the populace; but
he showed sobriety in all things and firmness, and never any mean thoughts
or action, nor love of novelty. And the things which conduce in any way to
the commodity of life, and of which fortune gives an abundant supply, he
used without arrogance and without excusing himself; so that when he had
them, he enjoyed them without affectation, and when he had them not, he
did not want them. No one could ever say of him that he was either a
sophist or a home-bred flippant slave or a pedant; but every one
acknowledged him to be a man ripe, perfect, above flattery, able to manage
his own and other men's affairs. Besides this, he honoured those who were
true philosophers, and he did not reproach those who pretended to be
philosophers, nor yet was he easily led by them. He was also easy in
conversation, and he made himself agreeable without any offensive
affectation. He took a reasonable care of his body's health, not as one
who was greatly attached to life, nor out of regard to personal
appearance, nor yet in a careless way, but so that, through his own
attention, he very seldom stood in need of the physician's art or of
medicine or external applications. He was most ready to give way without
envy to those who possessed any particular faculty, such as that of
eloquence or knowledge of the law or of morals, or of anything else; and
he gave them his help, that each might enjoy reputation according to his
deserts; and he always acted conformably to the institutions of his
country, without showing any affectation of doing so. Further, he was not
fond of change nor unsteady, but he loved to stay in the same places, and
to employ himself about the same things; and after his paroxysms of
headache he came immediately fresh and vigorous to his usual occupations.
His secrets were not but very few and very rare, and these only about
public matters; and he showed prudence and economy in the exhibition of
the public spectacles and the construction of public buildings, his
donations to the people, and in such things, for he was a man who looked
to what ought to be done, not to the reputation which is got by a man's
acts. He did not take the bath at unseasonable hours; he was not fond of
building houses, nor curious about what he ate, nor about the texture and
colour of his clothes, nor about the beauty of his slaves. His dress came
from Lorium, his villa on the coast, and from Lanuvium generally. We know
how he behaved to the toll-collector at Tusculum who asked his pardon; and
such was all his behaviour. There was in him nothing harsh, nor
implacable, nor violent, nor, as one may say, anything carried to the
sweating point; but he examined all things severally, as if he had
abundance of time, and without confusion, in an orderly way, vigorously
and consistently. And that might be applied to him which is recorded of
Socrates, that he was able both to abstain from, and to enjoy, those
things which many are too weak to abstain from, and cannot enjoy without
excess. But to be strong enough both to bear the one and to be sober in
the other is the mark of a man who has a perfect and invincible soul, such
as he showed in the illness of Maximus.
To the gods I am indebted for having good grandfathers, good parents, a
good sister, good teachers, good associates, good kinsmen and friends,
nearly everything good. Further, I owe it to the gods that I was not
hurried into any offence against any of them, though I had a disposition
which, if opportunity had offered, might have led me to do something of
this kind; but, through their favour, there never was such a concurrence
of circumstances as put me to the trial. Further, I am thankful to the
gods that I was not longer brought up with my grandfather's concubine, and
that I preserved the flower of my youth, and that I did not make proof of
my virility before the proper season, but even deferred the time; that I
was subjected to a ruler and a father who was able to take away all pride
from me, and to bring me to the knowledge that it is possible for a man to
live in a palace without wanting either guards or embroidered dresses, or
torches and statues, and such-like show; but that it is in such a man's
power to bring himself very near to the fashion of a private person,
without being for this reason either meaner in thought, or more remiss in
action, with respect to the things which must be done for the public
interest in a manner that befits a ruler. I thank the gods for giving me
such a brother, who was able by his moral character to rouse me to
vigilance over myself, and who, at the same time, pleased me by his
respect and affection; that my children have not been stupid nor deformed
in body; that I did not make more proficiency in rhetoric, poetry, and the
other studies, in which I should perhaps have been completely engaged, if
I had seen that I was making progress in them; that I made haste to place
those who brought me up in the station of honour, which they seemed to
desire, without putting them off with hope of my doing it some time after,
because they were then still young; that I knew Apollonius, Rusticus,
Maximus; that I received clear and frequent impressions about living
according to nature, and what kind of a life that is, so that, so far as
depended on the gods, and their gifts, and help, and inspirations, nothing
hindered me from forthwith living according to nature, though I still fall
short of it through my own fault, and through not observing the
admonitions of the gods, and, I may almost say, their direct instructions;
that my body has held out so long in such a kind of life; that I never
touched either Benedicta or Theodotus, and that, after having fallen into
amatory passions, I was cured; and, though I was often out of humour with
Rusticus, I never did anything of which I had occasion to repent; that,
though it was my mother's fate to die young, she spent the last years of
her life with me; that, whenever I wished to help any man in his need, or
on any other occasion, I was never told that I had not the means of doing
it; and that to myself the same necessity never happened, to receive
anything from another; that I have such a wife, so obedient, and so
affectionate, and so simple; that I had abundance of good masters for my
children; and that remedies have been shown to me by dreams, both others,
and against bloodspitting and giddiness...; and that, when I had an
inclination to philosophy, I did not fall into the hands of any sophist,
and that I did not waste my time on writers of histories, or in the
resolution of syllogisms, or occupy myself about the investigation of
appearances in the heavens; for all these things require the help of the
gods and fortune.
Among the Quadi at the Granua.