William O. Stephens

And he was an intellectual, but that wasn't in the cards for him.

That wasn't what was fated for him.

And he recognized that.

And so, you know, he didn't celebrate being an emperor.

He tried to be the best one that he could.

And he recognized and he knew his history, too, his immediate Roman history.

He wanted to be a benevolent despot, not a maniac.

Yeah.

Not a megalomaniac, not a bloodthirsty monster.

He didn't want to be a Caligula or a Nero, right?

Yes, exactly.

And Marcus was clearly very observant.

I mean, he learned from his tutors and teachers, but he also learned from his other male role models.

He learned from Antoninus Pius and just delivers this extended glowing encomium about how, you know, aptly named.

Pius in Latin, the core meaning there isn't piety, it's dutifulness.

Hmm.

So, I mean, Antoninus, the dutiful, right?

That's what Antoninus Pius means, right?

And so the impression that Antoninus made on Marcus was, you have millions of people who you're responsible for and to.

And it's not like our democratic scheme, as you were saying before.