Marcus Aurelius
From Philosopedia
Marcus Aurelius (121–180)
Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus, the Roman emperor, was originally named Marcus Annius Versus.
A zealous Stoic, he tried to decrease the brutality at gladiatorial shows. However, he regarded Christians as natural enemies of the empire and persecuted them for their obstinancy and their crimes.
“I learned from Diognetus,” he declared, “not to give credit to what was said by miracle-workers, and about the driving away of demons and such things.” His Meditations expresses a humanistic philosophy and, according to Wheeler, the ideas “breathe a lofty morality and are a standing refutation of the view that pure ethics depend upon Christian belief.”
