| Given that he was a powerful head of state, a warrior, a brilliant man—you might think that most of the stories we have about Marcus Aurelius would be illustrations of these traits. Marcus Aurelius bravely charging on the battlefield. Marcus Aurelius' razor sharp wit. Marcus Aurelius' wise statesmanship. And while we do have a few stories from his life that demonstrate these virtues, we also have a surprising amount of examples of him crying. Not crying out of fear or whining self-pity or because he didn't get something he wanted (that would hardly be Stoic)–-but tears of sadness and love and compassion (for which there is no Stoic exemption). We've talked about three before, but in his new and excellent biography of Marcus Aurelius (grab at The Painted Porch here), Donald Robertson provides another. "Toward the end of his life," he writes, "the emperor found himself weeping over a letter informing him that a catastrophic earthquake had leveled the city of Smyrna (in Turkey). His tears soaked the parchment as he read, "She is [now] a desert through which the west winds blow." The unfeeling stereotype of a Stoic would of course not be moved by a roll call of plague victims, the death of beloved tutor, or the enormity of the imperial burden. But Marcus Aurelius was never that. He was a human being. Someone who cared. Someone who cared about others. Someone who was in touch with himself and what he felt. He didn't stuff his emotions down but processed them and then proceeded to do his job—carrying on, as we have marveled many times—despite the sadness, despite the grief, despite struggling under the burdens of life and leadership. And so must we. Which, in the end, is the greater contribution? Which is the greater example? Neither man was perfect, but they do present us with distinct paths. Which will we choose? Words or deeds? Preserving this philosophy on the page or embodying it in practice? The world needs both to be sure, but if we could only choose one? We need the latter so much more these days than the former.
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