How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald J. Robertson (PDF)

Description

This book is a wonderful introduction to one of history’s greatest figures: Marcus Aurelius. His life and this book are a clear guide for those facing adversity, seeking tranquility and pursuing excellence. —Ryan Holiday, bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way and The Daily StoicThe life-changing principles of Stoicism taught through the story of its most famous proponent.Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius was the final famous Stoic philosopher of the ancient world. The Meditations, his personal journal, survives to this day as one of the most loved self-help and spiritual classics of all time. In How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, cognitive psychotherapist Donald Robertson weaves the life and philosophy of Marcus Aurelius together seamlessly to provide a compelling modern-day guide to the Stoic wisdom followed by countless individuals throughout the centuries as a path to achieving greater fulfillment and emotional resilience. How to Think Like a Roman Emperor takes readers on a transformative journey along with Marcus, following his progress from a young noble at the court of Hadrian—taken under the wing of some of the finest philosophers of his day—through to his reign as emperor of Rome at the height of its power. Robertson shows how Marcus used philosophical doctrines and therapeutic practices to build emotional resilience and endure tremendous adversity, and guides readers through applying the same methods to their own lives.Combining remarkable stories from Marcus’s life with insights from modern psychology and the enduring wisdom of his philosophy, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor puts a human face on Stoicism and offers a timeless and essential guide to handling the ethical and psychological challenges we face today.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐“How to Think like a Roman Emperor…” has literally changed my life in giving me a deeper dive into Stoicism, helping me actually apply it to my life and retrain my thoughts that led me to be depressed. I’ve struggled with depression since 2005, and Stoicism, plus exercise (specifically running outside), plus talking with a therapist and taking medication have helped me immensely and possibly “cured” my depression (it’s only been 3 weeks since doing all 4 things simultaneously). I recommend starting off with Donald Robertsons book “How to Think like a Roman Emperor…” and then reading the Gregory Hayes translation of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. The free translations (e.g.: George Long) are written in “ye olde English” and hence less accessible.My notes after reading each chapter:Chapter 1. The dead emperor.There are four virtues: wisdom, justice, courage and moderation. These virtues should take priority above worldly things. Our ability to reason is what makes us human. Marcus Aurelius was not afraid of death.Chapter 2. The most truthful child in Rome.SummaryMarcus didn’t concern himself with sounding smart but practical wisdom for everyday use. Conciseness and objectivity should be applied to our speech and describing a situation. Our initial feelings are natural, what matters is how we apply reason to the feelings and situation. It’s not things that upset us but our judgements about things that upset us. The things that we don’t have control over are neither good nor bad. Ask, what would [virtuous person] do?Chapter 3. Contemplating the sage.To communicate wisely, we must phrase things appropriately.To be pure of heart, we must never crave anything that requires walls or curtains around our thoughts. Imagine if a role model followed you around and knew your thoughts.Ask yourself “what would [role model] do?” Model a role models behavior and attitude.Start each day preparing yourself for what you will face and think how your role model will face the situation. Review your day and ask how you could improve and what you did well.Create a list of things desired and admired qualities.Chapter 4. The choice of Hercules.The life of pleasure doesn’t lead to greatness. Pleasure doesn’t equal happiness. Purpose and fulfillment bring great satisfaction, not the pursuit of earthly pleasures.Joy should be active rather than passive. It’s comes from perceiving the virtuous quality of our actions.Contemplate virtue in ourselves and others. Appreciate the things you already have and contemplate how you would miss them if you didn’t have them.What’re the long terms pros and cons of a habit?Spot early warning signs so you can nip problematic desires in the bud.Gain cognitive distance: view thoughts as if they aren’t your own. “Depreciation by analysis”: Break down things in smaller chunks, or into their basic elements.Don’t fall into the double standard of admiring another person’s virtue and downplay yourself pursuing or having that same virtue.Chapter 5. Grasping the nettle.Pain is ephemeral. Think of pain in a detached manner. Physical disabilities do not impede our ability to pursue virtue. Our preconceived judgement about pain affects how we perceive it.Chapter 6. The inner citadel and war of many nations.“The obstacle standing in the way becomes the way” and can become an advantage.Do things with a reserve clause (Fate permitting, God willing). Be indifferent to the results, the pursuit of virtue itself is the reward.Premeditate adversity to make adversity less daunting and to make facing it easier.Exposure therapy, playing through an event in our mind like a short film, where it has a beginning, middle and end, can help with reducing anxiety over time.True inner peace comes from the nature of our own thoughts rather than pleasant natural surroundings.The universe is change. Life is opinion. Contemplate impermanence. External things cannot touch the soul, but our disturbances all arise from within. Things don’t upset us, but our values judgements about them do. Cognitive distancing enables us to do this.When anxious about something, ask “what’s next”. Helps with de-catastrophiz-ing. Eg: if you lose your job, eventually you’ll get a new job. Practice time projection, how will you view X event in 20 years? Why should you be anxious about the event if it won’t concern you in 20 years?Chapter 7. Temporary madness.No one does evil or makes mistakes willingly.Be ready to accept the errors of people. We still share a common humanity with those who oppose us and should treat our enemies with kindness. Even though someone may try to harm us, they cannot damage our true character.Anger is a form of desire, desire for revenge, desire for punishment. Can stem from a rule that is important to us that has been broken.Before we’re angry (in the moment, it’s hard to remember these strategies): practice and remember to self-monitor, cognitive distancing (our judgement about events concern us, not the event itself), postponement, what would X do, functional analysis (eg: what will happen if we let anger guide us).Interacting with troublesome people is an opportunity to practice virtue.Anger does harm to the person harboring anger.Bad people do bad things, we can’t expect bad people to do good things.We should not be surprised by the events of the world and people’s actions.Chapter 8. Death and view from above.All things change and before long they are gone. You cannot step into the same river twice, Heraclitus once said, because new waters are constantly flowing through it.In a sense, death is returning to the state of non-existence before we were born. We were dead centuries before we were born.Philosophy is a lifelong meditation on our own mortality.

⭐Great book, really well-written, which does an excellent job of introducing readers to Marcus Aurelius and his classic Meditations. I say “except” because Robertson isn’t a trained historian or philosopher, and his book does include some big howlers. His last chapter, where he tries to seance with the mind of the dying Marcus, is positively bizarre. It’s a complete pastiche of ideas drawn from many different traditions, not just Stoicism. Throughout the book there’s an attempt to portray Marcus as a secular saint and Stoicism as the life-hack-to-beat-all-life hacks. We get it: complexity doesn’t sell. But complexity is reality, whether it sells or not.

⭐When I was 19, I got a copy of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations from the Walter J. Black Classics Club. I still have that volume. I’ve been dipping into the Meditations several times a week for more than 50 years. The original volume traveled with me in my seabag. It was my companion on trips as a young man. It’s still on my shelf, though I use an updated translation today.I bought several recent books on stoicism. How to Think Like A Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald Robertson was one of them. I buy two versions of books I plan to take notes in. I buy the Kindle version so I can take notes and create flashcards. And I buy the audio version, which I use as my main “reading” copy. I like the slower pace of the reading that allows me to ponder the meaning of passages. And I can highlight the passages themselves in my Kindle version.That’s what I did with this book. As I went through the audiobook, I realized the author linked stoicism to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). “Okay,” I thought, “that’s an additional insight.” In the version of the audiobook I used, the introduction was at the end of the book. It cleared up many things about the book I had wondered about. It inspired me to go back through the book with the introduction in mind. The introduction does what an introduction should do. It gives you a frame for understanding the book and how it’s organized. It also gives you the author’s intent. Here is that intent, from the introduction.”This entire book is designed to help you follow Marcus in acquiring Stoic strength of mind and eventually a more profound sense of fulfillment. You’ll find that I’ve combined Stoicism with elements of CBT in many places, which as we’ve seen is only natural because CBT was inspired by Stoicism and they have some fundamental things in common.”If you have an audiobook laid out the same way mine was, skip to the end and listen the introduction before you listen to the rest of the book. You’ll get more from the book.How to Think Like A Roman Emperor was a great book for me. I was already familiar with stoicism and I worked to apply it throughout my life. I’d read other books about stoicism and about Marcus Aurelius. This is the best of those. There are two reasons. Stoic teachers taught Marcus and others to identify people they admire and then learn from their example. Robertson does the same thing, with Marcus Aurelius as the prime example.Robertson ties stoic practice to cognitive behavioral therapy. That provides a modern context and some scientific support for some stoic practices. In A NutshellIf you’re already familiar with stoicism, buy this book and read it. You’ll learn new thing about Marcus Aurelius and how to apply stoic principles. Robertson puts stoicism in a modern context. He gives you helpful ways to connect stoic philosophy with everyday life. If you’re relatively new to stoicism, read Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way first. It will give you a good practical overview of stoicism before you go a little deeper with Robertson’s book.

⭐This is more of a reflection on Marcus Aurelius’ death than “How to Think Like a Roman Emperor”. And it also is a brief overview of the history of Stoicism, along with some commentary on the emperors themselves.There are some good examples of how Marcus dealt with death, both his own and other people’s. I think the title should have been more accurately called: “Reflections on the Death of Marcus Aurelius”, but that’s my opinion. Hey, I just realized! That’s what a review is for: giving my opinion.So if you read it for free from the library or KU it’s ok, but I wouldn’t pay a lot of money for it unless the author greatly expanded the material.6/10 unicorns. No typos, formatting & editing all professional. Content is the only reason for low score; no issues with the writing itself. You can do better, man.

⭐Its always interesting (to me) to observe ancient philosphical approaches to life, from different eras and cultures, and compare to present day. For instance stoicism shares many traits with Buddhism in terms of objective observation – in Zen there is the “Fusho” mediation (one of my favourites) that really emphasises this, and so onto modern CBT that also applies these to some extent.However, for me this book is ruined by the invention and inaccuracies in the author’s misunderstanding of Roman history, which he tells as though they are facts. There are very few good sources for the level of detail the author attempts to construct – the slightly preferrable being Cassius Dio – however everything covering the Nerva–Antonine dynasty (the author fails to mention sucession began further back than Hadrian) was written down decades afterwards from stories that were already resembling Chinese whispers, and other sources (eg The Historia Augusta) are often best viewed as sattirical gossip. The best (worst) example of the author’s creative license is in relation to Hadrian – who many historians recognise as one of the most cultured and tolerant of the Roman emperors, and who, like Marcus Aurelius, only engaged in war very reluctantly (towards the end of his reign). The author however seems to have no problem extrapolating a tale from a source (named Galen) that Hadrian apparently blinded a servant in the eye with a stylus – Galen himself being born towards the end of Hadrian’s life, and raised in Pergamum (now Bergama, Turkey), a great many miles from Rome. So how given the distance in time and space would he know if such a story was true? It was commmonplace for all the emperors to have tales told at their expense, by rivals in the senate who saught to profit from misinformation. The author accepts this occured during Marcus Aurelias’ reign – in fact it happened throughout antiquity, just as it does today. Additionally a number of statements from Roman historians such as Cassius Dio are recognised to be apportioned to the wrong emperors, (Hadrian telling a woman he did not have time to listen to her, and then returning to hear her after she said “cease then being emperor” is now believed to be derived from a tale about Trajan). The author then uses this snippet from a single source (ask any modern day students of the classics what they think of this approach) to fabricate how Hadrian was routinely belligerent and liable to fits of rage, so much so that the author then concludes this must be a large part of the reason Marcus Aurelius hardly mentions Hadrian in the meditations. Can this really be so? Hadrian only planned the succession of Marcus towards the end of his reign, when his original planned heir – Lucius Aelius Caesar, died of an illness in AD 138, barely six months before Hadrian himself died. Exactly how much the author could expect Marcus to write of an emperor he barely met as a young child? Meanwhile surrounded by his adopted father-emperor and the many teachers who he spent much of his growing life with, of course Marcus could write about them and thus very little about Hadrian. It would appear then that the author bends and creates flawed stories to fit his own narrative, rather than apply the stoic philosphy he talks of. A stoic would ask himself objectively if the stories he creates are suitably accurate, and whether they should be presented as conceptual pieces rather than fact. Perhaps he should also read Marguerite Yourcenar’s well-researched and excellent “Memoirs of Hadrian”.Another problem not really discussed in the book, but does appear in the author’s blog – the succession of Commodus: one of the worst emperors to be let loose on Rome – at least all historical sources agree to that. The author seems intent on defending Marcus Aurelius (perhaps in part because he tries to identify with him through the loss of a father at a young age) and so concludes “you cannot blame fathers for their sons”… really? Where did Commodus come from? And why did Marcus leave it until too late to plan (yes we know of the plague – a wise man would surely think all the more reason to plan well)? Why not appoint an adopted brother to replace Marcus Annius Verus as a co-emperor? (bloodshed apparently, but if the adopted brother had the respect of the army, and we know Commodus did not, the latter would not have so easily dominated). Of course historians for centuries have debated the what-ifs of Marcus Aerlius’ succession plan – but the (tragic) irony stands that Pax Romana and ancient stoicsm died because of the actions of its main proponent – Marcus Aerelius. And on that – comes the realisation that too much naval gazing doesn’t an empire save.In Zen Buddhism there is the saying “Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water, after enlightenment, chop wood and carry water”. Meditation and philosphy are only part of the picture, there are always tasks to do, and this may be where Stoicism and Zen diverge more subtly – the latter strives for awareness in the present moment, which ultimately means knowing what needs to be done (if any “doing” is needed), and doing it better. I wish the author well and hope he considers a re-write.

⭐I am a massive fan of this book. It has to be the ‘go to’ book for stoic philosophy and practice now. I am on my second reading of it at the moment and it just makes so much more sense than anything I have read before on stoicism. I think it’s because Donald Robertson has set it within the context of Marcus aurelius’s personal battles and challenges and how he applied stoic techniques to guide him. I especially loved the last chapter ‘death and the view from above’. I don’t think I have ever read an internal monologue of someone in there last hours of life before. This is such an original book and potentially life changing. I would love to see Donald Robertson follow up with a book of stories he mentioned that he wrote for his daughter such as the choice of Hercules and the Greek general Xenophon.

⭐Initially bought it on Audible and was impressed. Though you can get the raw Stoic philosophy of Marcus from his own passages in “The Meditations”, what author does so well here is weave in the context and incidents that demonstrated it. I had listened to it twice on audible and with Father’s Day nearing this was the obvious choice of the book to buy him. I ended up also buying another copy as I can see myself reading it again and also sharing with friends and family.

⭐This is better than any txt book I’ve read with exception of Bill Bryson and information,this is a personal book that ticks all my boxes.Angry,worries,stressed,then this book will help in an easy way.nice flow and not too technical.This is Not a book you pick up,read then put away, it’s a book you read in parts,soak up the chapters,take it in in.Screaming kids,loud colleagues in the room,then wait till it’s quiet.I keep this with my Dale Carnegie books.A great psychotherapist writing a book based on the teachings on one of the greatest human beings ever existed.Will definitely buy one for the kids when they are adults.A timeless book.Enjoy it,learn something.Be a better person.

⭐This was a genuinely fascinating read. I have been slowly getting in to Stoicism and didn’t appreciate the synergies with cognitive behavioural therapy, which this book highlights (in a really accessible and easy to understand way). As someone undergoing therapy the book was doubly useful – both for increasing my understanding of Stoicism, but also helping to enrich my “therapy journey”. I tend not to post reviews of books but have made an exception for this one. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it has been life changing – but there are lessons and takeaways within that I shall reflect on long after finishing the book. Highly recommended!

Keywords

Free Download How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius in PDF format
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius PDF Free Download
Download How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius 2019 PDF Free
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius 2019 PDF Free Download
Download How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius PDF
Free Download Ebook How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius