None of These Things Change | 10 Habits That Made Marcus Aurelius Great
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, designed to help bring those four key Stoic virtues—courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom—into the real world. None of these things change. You walk the streets of Pompeii and you see the little stands that sold hot and cold food for busy people to scarf down lunch. You walk up to the top of the hill and you find the nicer houses. You find that the owners of the nicer houses, tired of the street noise, banned vehicle traffic. You find people had creatively decorated to adjust for a small space. You find that the stores jockeyed to be close to the busiest intersections. You find artists and vandals had put up graffiti in public spaces. In short, you see nearly all of the trends and inclinations of any modern city.
Because for all of the centuries, people don't really change. In fact, nothing really changes. It's extra interesting then that Marcus Aurelius would make an observation about the time of Vespasian, since it ended only months before Pompeii ended. The age of Vespasian, he writes, people doing the exact same things, marrying, raising children, getting sick, dying, waging war, throwing parties, doing business, farming, flattering, boasting, distrusting, plotting, hoping others will die, complaining about their own lives, falling in love, putting away money, seeking high office and power. There are many more things we could add to this list than we have over the years.
What does Marcus Aurelius mean by 'None of these things change' when comparing ancient cities to modern life?
For centuries, people have decided to take the scenic route. They've talked baby talk to their dog. They've arrived late, anxiously. They've stayed up late, reading or talking. They were short with their children. They gossiped about a mutual friend. They fretted about their parents. They got caught up in a project and forgot to eat lunch. They caught a vain look in the mirror. They pinched fat on their belly. They got in arguments. They got a song stuck in their head. This is what we all do and always have done. This is what it is to be human. Some of it good, some of it better to resist. But it's the rhythm of life, the bleeding of eras one into the other. No change, just repetition, just foolishness and greatness all side by side.
So the next time you feel exasperated, annoyed, joyful, or curious, remember, countless generations before you felt exactly the same way. We are all participants in this ancient, eternal human dance. Different eras, same steps.
It wasn't just naturally wise, naturally courageous, naturally disciplined. It was an effort for him, as it is for all of us. Fight to be the person philosophy tried to make you. This guy, Marcus Aurelius, was the emperor of Rome, the most powerful man in the world. And you might think that his life was easy, that he had it made. In fact, Mark Cerullis experiences incredible difficulty and adversity from the get-go. Power and responsibility is foist upon him. It's not something that he expected or wanted. And then he finds himself in this job that he knows tends to corrupt. And he probably also had some inclination of how difficult the job would be. He experiences historic floods, a devastating plague, many years of warfare.
He's betrayed by one of his generals in an attempted coup. He buries multiple children. I mean, this guy did not have an easy life despite the privileges that he was lucky enough to enjoy. Marcus Aurelius knew that he had a lot of power, but he still faced the fundamental human reality that many things were outside of his control that were not in his power. And that's why he so took to Stoic philosophy It's ultimately just like you or I trying to navigate a difficult, unpredictable world populated by difficult, uncontrollable other people. And that's what he's doing in his meditations, writing advice to himself, trying to uphold these Stoic principles in the difficult crucible that he found himself in.
I'm Ryan Holiday. I've written a number of books about Stoic philosophy. I've spoken about it to everyone from the NBA to the NFL, sitting senators and special forces leaders. So in today's episode, I want to give you some rules for life from the great
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:35
2
What does Marcus Aurelius mean by 'None of these things change' when comparing ancient cities to modern life?
1:35–5:12
3
How does Marcus Aurelius describe everyday human behaviors across eras?
5:12–12:25
4
Why did Marcus Aurelius need to 'fight' to become the person philosophy tried to make him?
12:25–16:04
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The Daily Stoic
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