| It is clear that Commodus was no chip off the old block. Marcus Aurelius' son, the man he reluctantly passed the throne to (all four of Marcus's predecessors did not have a male heir) was impulsive and fragile, cruel and bloodthirsty. We don't know exactly what Commodus was like, but Joaquin Phoenix seems to have gotten close to his essence in the movie Gladiator. Was Marcus Aurelius a bad father? How did he not manage to pass his Stoicism—to say nothing of his kindness and sense of responsibility—to his son? We don't know and quite reasonably this makes some people doubt whether Marcus Aurelius was as great a man as we'd like to think he was. Yet because of our focus on the men of history, we often miss an equally compelling example of Marcus Aurelius' parenting and the power of his example. In 212 AD, his daughter Cornificia was sentenced to death by the emperor Caracalla on what appear to be spurious charges. Here, the historians tell us, a child of Marcus showed herself to be equal not just to his example, but to Cato and his daughter Porcia. "Her last words," the writers Horace White Parsons and Lucy Larcom explain in The Atlantic in 1888, "were 'My poor, unhappy soul, trapped in an unworthy body, go forth, be free, show them that you are the daughter of Marcus Aurelius!' Then she took off her ornaments, composed herself, opened her veins, and died." Cassius Dio, the ancient historian, said of her "wistful words and serene self-possession" that "whether innocent or guilty of the unknown crime for which she suffered, Cornificia has at least established her claim to an imperial birthright." It's a risky thing to speculate about people's parenting, let alone someone you don't know who lived a very long time ago. Like all of us, Marcus Aurelius clearly made mistakes as a parent. But he also clearly did something right. His male heir seemed to be a coward and a murderer, but his daughter? She was heroic and selfless and every bit the equal of her father and indeed one of the great Stoics of history. P.S. As parents, we all want to pass good virtues onto our children, to show them what it means to live a good life and be a good person. That's the whole idea behind The Daily Dad—to offer practical advice that not only strengthens your parenting skills but also fosters personal growth, ensuring you lead by example. The Daily Dad Leatherbound Edition is exclusively available at The Daily Stoic store. Filled with daily wisdom on parenthood, written to be read as a passage per day over the course of a year, this premium edition makes an extra-special gift to parents of all stages. Grab a copy for you or someone else over at The Daily Stoic Store today! *** | 
No comments:
Post a Comment