Marcus Aurelius: A Life

By Franck McLynn
DeCapo Press, $30.00, 684 Pages

/Marcus Aurelius: A Life is a well-researched work duly apprised of the cultural, economic, and social tiers in play during the birth and youth of the future emperor, allowing a complete picture of the workings of Roman hierarchy.

The book shares young Marcus’s influences, his grandfather’s advice that deceit is a dishonor, and his mother’s message of simple living and lack of material excess. Marcus dressed commonly for his station, ate little, and was a bit frail in spite of his active youth. He waited twenty-three years to be Caesar and fathered fifteen children with a politically ambitious wife. Somewhat of a pacifist himself, Marcus brilliantly defended and expanded Rome’s borders by bypassing nobles and appointing battle-seasoned veterans.

While generally known for his tolerance, logic, and love of spirituality, the author admits a black mark: Christians suffered persecution and martyrdom under his rule, though Marcus’s tolerance of this may have been an attempt to “appease the gods” during “annus calamitus,” a time of flood, famine, and invasions.

Though the writer’s opinions show through often, he manages to bare the life of Marcus Aurelius in dedicated fashion, exposing some of the nagging discrepancies between the real man and the one often portrayed.

Reviewed by Meredith Greene