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Marcus Aurelius: The Dialogues

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I knew within a few lines this was going to be treasure. The kind of book that demands a pencil in one hand, checking off this, underlining that. These are words I want to remember. Yes, Stedall is a word master, and without any cheap tricks or somersaults, he had me instantly intrigued. Outlining his personal search in the Introduction for that eternal question we all surely ask (or should) about the meaning of life, Stedall ponders what Marcus Aurelius might have said on the matter. Called "one of five good Roman Emperors" (AD 121-180), Marcus Aurelius was known for his philosophical Meditations, a treatise he had written about his own search for meaning, for the definition of right and wrong without religious constraint, and for the value of a good man. Centuries later, author Alan Stedall finds himself pondering these same questions, wishes the Roman emperor had written more about his own answers, then imagines what those answers might have been had he been overheard discussing such matters among his closest confidantes. This slender volume is the result of these imaginings.

To have a value system means that first we must examine our lives with an unflinching inner eye. Stedall had been attracted to Marcus Aurelius' Meditations for their "vigorous engagement in life" rather than living a life by default, and by his reputation for being a good man, yet not made so by a faith outside of himself. Without a divine power handing down to us a series of commandments to follow, defining good and right, can these concepts still exist? If we have no fear of hell and no desire for heaven, only a wish to live a life of value, what might those values be? What makes a good man good?

"Increasing the richness of the tapestry of one's understanding must inevitably increase the comfort (or discomfort) or our awareness of the material world. Knowledge, therefore, is not only power but, of its nature, it modifies action and behavior."

You cannot know and not respond to that knowing. Even to do "nothing" with one's newly acquired knowledge, or awareness, was, after all, a choice, a decision made and acted upon. But any knowledge adds richness to life, and so I read on, this engaging series of discussions of a somewhat fictionalized Roman emperor in friendly debate with his friends and military comrades. From chapters headed "On the Brevity of Life and the Need to Seek Meaning," "On the Pursuit of Purpose," "On the Supreme Good," and "On the Pursuit of the Virtuous Life," I was drawn deeper and deeper into the simple but solid reasoning.

But what of value? If we have purpose, and we have blessing, what do we value? As for those who value nothing, Aurelius remarks pointedly: "If nothing is valued, one does not risk losing anything of value. However, it seems to me that this philosophy promotes an unbecoming lack of engagement with life, a general retreat from life. Indeed, such a philosophy would perhaps hold it best not be born in the first place... engagement places us at risk of disappointment in our endeavors, and grief at our loss of persons and things we love, but this is the price we pay for being born with natural gifts and accompanying obligations."

A life well-lived is not measured by success in our endeavors, in fact, but in the endeavoring itself. It is the journey, and not the destination. It is the process, and not the end result. The blessing that does not perish is what comes from a life so lived, and is, finally, unscathed by success as modern society would measure it.

Now Aurelius sinks his teeth into the meat of the issue: values. And from those values - morals. He does so with no holds barred.

"The judgments of others are fickle. Today's acclaimed hero will soon be cast down by public opinion as yesterday's fool or villain. The only judgment we need to consider is that of our own conscience... If others conduct themselves badly, so be it. The condition of each man's soul is his own responsibility."

If any reader thinks that is letting you off easy - no burning hell fires to consume the wrongdoer - think again. There is no harsher master than one's own conscience, certainly not when one has a working mind. It sees all, and it forgives nothing. Aurelius (that is, Stedall) takes on the dissection of good and evil here, and it is fascinating to watch the concepts take shape without various religious laws to fall back upon. He does it skillfully, with reason as his tool of precision, and there are few things more beautiful than logic falling neatly into place like an intricate puzzle. There is room here for pain, and there is room for tragedy. That inevitable question of "why me?" is addressed as well. Joy has its place, and so does peace, as each sends out ripples to begin another ripple in neat succession.

By end of Epilogue, I could only applaud: Bravo!

~abridged from "The Smoking Poet," literary ezine, Summer 2007 Issue

If your interest is Marcus Aurelius, this is the most accessible and entertaining place to start. In one easy read you will have grasped the essence of his philosophy, as well as its political Roman background.

And if you are trying to get to grips with your life this is definitely the book for you. It is the author Alan Stedall's personal quest for meaning in life, which nowadays many people find difficult to get from formal religion.

Fascinated by the collection of jottings which are the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, he has used these as the basis of a complete philosophy of life, an answer to his search for truth. This is all cleverly presented in dialogue form (inspired by Plato's Socratic Dialogues), the other four speakers who reflect alternative points of view being real historical characters.

Don't fear being in for a hard read. These conversations bring profound ideas to life and give them an immediacy, with touches of humour, that carry you along on an increasingly uplifting journey. The book is very, very readable and once you have finished it I guarantee you will never forget it.

My father once told me: "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." It wasn't until I achieved manhood that I realized my father had failed to attribute that bit of wisdom to Henry David Thoreau, and that he'd left the quote incomplete -- "and go to the grave with the song still in them."

In Marcus Aurelius: The Dialogues, Alan Stedall brings Marcus Aurelius's principle-centered convictions into the 21st century through a fictional account of how he imagined a discussion amid Aurelius, Galen, a well-known Hellenic surgeon, and Harnouphis, an Egyptian high priest of Isis, might unfold. The important aspects of this imaginary dialogue take place in chapter four: On the brevity of life and the need to seek meaning, during which it is debated whether an unreflective life is worth living. Chapter five: On the pursuit of purpose, during which the three speculate on the greater good that each man contributes to society... "It follows that a life led without social purpose is, from the perspective of one's fellow man, worthless." Chapter six: On the Supreme Good, puts forth the concept of seeking above all else, peace of mind, or, "the spirit at rest. Once this treasure is our complete possession, no loss of fortune, wealth or health can trouble us. Death itself will not disturb us: we will see it as the false menace it is." Chapter seven: On the pursuit of the virtuous life, we learn that "the condition of each man's soul is his own responsibility."

To live our lives according to each single tenant -- to seek meaning for our life, a purpose for our contribution to society, peace of mind, and to live a virtuous life -- is a tall order, and I imagine few men ever achieve all four. I struggle daily with all of them, and have only come close to achieving one or another of them singly, never in complete concert with the others -- my life more closely resembles Thoreau's adage.

Although Stedall presents Aurelius's Stoic philosophy as tempered by strong humanistic beliefs, it is difficult to imagine anyone in our society refraining from imposing moral judgments on people and events outside our control, or exerting discipline in order to achieve peace of mind. Aurelius puts forth that "pride is an invidious threat to our moral character. It puffs us up with vanity and encourages us to conduct ourselves not in pursuit of our own best nature but to gain the flattery and approval of others. Praise, or the lack of it, does nothing to add to or subtract from the essential beauty or virtue of an object." I struggled with this, as I am prone to struggle against many extremes -- who among us doesn't benefit in some small way from the approval of others, whether a parent, a spouse or a boss? Does a child not yet capable of language respond better to praise and approval, or indifference? Yet I can't deny that most of us today could stand to acquire a large dose of humility.

Aurelius: "The judgments of others are fickle. Today's acclaimed hero will soon be cast down by public opinion as yesterday's fool or villain," adding, "Above all, we must hold fast to the admonition: `To thine own self be true.'" As true today as it was in Aurelius's time, or Shakespeare's, who I always suspected was a plagiarist.

In our over-medicated society we tend to deny that pain is a natural condition of life; here, too, we can learn from Aurelius: "It is inevitable and natural that our hearts will grieve when we suffer the loss of those that we hold dear... I hold that to attempt to deny such suffering is both false and pointless... However... we can still thank the gods for having first blessed us with our loved ones, and for the time they were granted to us; in this way may we yet find some degree of solace."

Yet it is in the appendix that Stedall shows the true relevance of Aurelius's beliefs on our modern world:

Today's liberal Western society is besotted with materialism. Self-seeking avarice receives authoritative approval as a state creed, and so is the only basis for acceptable moral behavior that presently exists. Yet we all recognize that the planet itself cannot sustain unrestrained personal greed into the medium term. We all know that the resources to sustain an unreservedly selfish way of life simply do not exist. Our lack of concern for the effects on future generations will create an ecological desert.

I won't descry Marcus Aurelius for his beliefs, even as I struggle to find my own way, and to release the song within me; but I will say these "meditations" gave me pause for my own reflections, and perhaps they will take seed, as I hope. To those who would discount them on the premise they are out of date, mores the pity: if more of us were willing to look into the past, and to learn from those who have gone before us, I suspect the world would be a much better place in which to live.

Recommended.

This is a very creative way in bringing to life the great stoic emperor, Marcus Aurelius. I fond it fascinating and highly inventive. Rev. Dennis Kuby, Berkeley, CA

I found `The Dialogues' a fascinating and insightful read. Alan Stedall first takes the reader on a journey through his own explorations of religion and philosophy, to address those age-old `life, the universe and everything' questions. Then, using Marcus Aurelius's Meditations as his springboard, he creates an imaginary dialogue between the great Roman emperor and four of his contemporaries, that explores the meaning and purpose of our existence and the value of pursuing a virtuous life.

The Author steps deftly through the bigger issues found in the Meditations, using the construct of the imagined dialogue to set out complex philosophical debate in a simple and coherent manner.

Some find all the answers they need conventional religious belief. Others conclude that to find meaning and purpose and make their best contribution to the world, they need to look beyond `blind faith' to questions of personal responsibility and purity of spirit - issues such as morality, self-discipline and honour that seem somehow out-of-place in today's society. It is fascinating to appreciate that, 2000 years ago, good men were faced with similar philosophical dilemmas - and that whilst in the intervening 2000 years everything has changed, in fact nothing has changed.

I found much to inspire me in this small, easy-to-read volume. It was helpful too, that the Author sets the debate into context, offering the reader both a lightning tour through Marcus's life and experiences, and casting some light on his own attempts to rationalise an early belief in God with a need for purpose and meaning which was never fully realised within conventional religion.

The Dialogues is a very readable introduction to the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. It solves a problem for a reader of the Meditations of just how to organize these very private notes in a coherent way. This work will likely spur many readers to pursue a more comprehensive knowledge of Marcus Aurelius, his times, and his thinking.

Although "The Dialogues" is a small book, it is packed full of philosophical questions that Man has asked over the ages; questions about the reason for our being, the definition of Divinity, our responsabilities as human being towards others. Alan Stedall, an admirer of Marcus Aurelius and a man seaching for answers, manages to take Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations" and place them in a setting that brings them together in a sensible fashion. He brings to the forefront the question ethic behavior and the need for spirituality in our daily lives. The book is a quick read, yet the reader feels satisfied at the end. While our questions remain, there is a glimmer of hope for Man, whether or not there is anything more after our life in this world.

The more you read ,the more you want to learn and understand.
Excellent work Alan .