New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-06-17
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
w.rsoNs MARCUS AURELIUs.

IN
Yen III '"o - No sufficient apology for the pres
800 Undoubtedly this fact is Justinca.ion
49,, undertaking for the life of Marcus Aurehus
10 the record of the noblest character VI @ss
IL ono Of the poblest to be found In all history
The extensive photography appended 10 MS woiN
nv Mr. Watson at once bears testimony 10 VI. .n
ronehness of his preparation and proves 'no W r.
of the interest which the character OF "aloa
,a,;us has awakened ever since his time huu W..
.I I...I ..ronce that no English biography
of 40 fascinating a parsonage should nave ooon
written before it must be remehocieu 49, &C
English thinkers have made the imperiai "u'nU.
chs "Thonahts' the subject OF elaborate an"S'''
essays. ,..o,,,r &c him has
on,eared is perhaps TO be found IN the selo"s'i'
I'll ouite recently of what Mr.. Herbert spencer
LII tho " theological bias" Marcus AureluS was
a stole vet he lived so blameless ana I'D all ways
pohle a life that it is difficult TO distinguish o0
tween his virtues and those ofthe mghest Ohrs,l"n
;deol And vet there is distinction and dlner-
ence and it deserves to be pointed out Maiou'
was indeed more than Stole: his charac'ol IL
parts seems to have approached the peculiar "n
derness which is the special product OF Ine no"
fa;,h Stoicsm was vriIe and masculine 10 the
,,tp,ost It's philosophy demanded lifelong SELL
acri6ce and discipline without promise OF nope
of reward. either here or hereafter. virtue was p"
no nursued not because it brought happiness OF
GOOD renort or peace of mind, but because 1t was
right No love of humanity, no rusb Ill an o'0i
rnliug Providence was involved. Inc "orS' wac
10 he expected and endured, without conn lain.
"a ,v;tbout hone His conscience was the Goa OF
tba Stoic and il was a pitiess and above all us
,lns;oniziug deity. But Marcus Aurehus was moro
than Stole Tenderness was so BLENDED WIN soii
repression in his nature that while he sa" 'ue
and defects of he could not refrain irouh ie''ne
his nitv for their foibles merge into love 1or the
selves. ,,., l.. ,-os
horn has seldom been recorded. with the nature
and predilections of sage and reclusehe was coh
.oIIoa 20 he q ruler and warrior The meditative
disnosition which would have befitted an early
christian ancbOrte suffered daily martyrdom eA-
nosed TO THAT fierce light that beats upon
throne The spOtless purity OF SAINT was ioloeu
into iuxtapostion with the rank corruptlons OIL te
accomplishing Roman society of the time nuinan-
itv as sensitive and profound as that OF hoiniiS
uas compelled to pander to a pOpulace that lusted
after qladiatorial shows. An example OF nearly All
the highest Christian virtues was made, through
tba satire of circumstances, to become prosecutor
of Christianity. And he whose soul oehshteu ~
peace and harmony was condemned 10 waste LIE
wears in sanguinary wars against oaroaTlahs, anu
to die at last amid of carnage and pestience
Yet through all these trials his constancy never
6e.erted him nor did he ever lower his standard
annihilation and Immortality, he yet was
s,eadfast to his duty he saw it, For he was In
truth. an optimist. He held that God was omn-
scient aud onnipOtent, and that whatever nap
pened il must be for the best. Thus he says: we
are all working together to one end, some with
knowledge and design, and others without knowing
what they do" But every man must act for nm
,ef and search himself and establish his own soul,
and make his own character. For " 1t is rldicu-
lous thingn he observes, "fOr aman not to fly from
his own badness whichis, indeed, possible but 10
from other mems badness, which isimposslOle'" All
through the Thoughts" tins admonltion LOT seiI-
culture runs and it must be borne in mind that
the Thoughts" never meant for publication
but embody the most candid self-analyss OF pure
soul in the possession of mankind.
Marcus Aurelius frequently felt the depression
hseparable from his surroundings but he never
yielded TO it, always stimulating himself on such
occasions by fresh and forcibe recaptulation OF
mis- duty The study of such character cannot
but be most interesting and the more so because 1t
sunidue And the external life OF the emperor
,orresponded with his internal progress. The nlne-
teen wears of his reign were filled with good works
From'frs to last he Tabored ceaseleSsly to reform
abuses to ameliorate the condition OF the poor ana
the oppressed to introduce reforms, TO purify the
law to promote peace and prosperity, to weld TO-
sether the dsjonted masses of the Roman Empire
His relation to Christianity has inevitably been 6
mbiect of much controversy. That he did persecutt
The Christians or that they prosecuted durinE
his reign is certain. But Mr.. Watson has bestowed
much pains upon his demonstration of this phase IL
The career of Marcus, and has brought into neces-
lary prominence the explanatory circumstances
IN the second century Christianity was in many re
pects deservedly disliked. 1t aboundedin heresies
No man could say certainly which It's doctrines
we're 1t was torn by internal dissensions 1t wa
Insulting and aggressive toward the old religions
10 Hooti itx-f ri no ar
Roman populace naturally hated it, and the Roman
rulers as naturally looked with disavor upon faitl
which made men bad citizens and above all spollet
them for military service The plain truth is thai
The new religion was then In baC
,dor and that while no doubt pure
Ignorance and misunderstanding account
tormuch of this unpopularity the condition of thu
Christian churches themselves was in many respect
conducive to the growth of the general sentiment
If dislike and dstrust. Marcus Aurens was there
fore simply not in advance of his time in this mat
ter He did not examine the Christian apolOgetics
yery few educated Romans would have thought /
worth their while TO do so then. In fact Chris
tanity in the second century was regarded by tn
Roman world very much as a mixture of Mormon
ism and Communism would be to-day. III wa
thought to be a superstitious epidemic mad
specally offensive by an infusion of sedtion
Marcus did not originate any measures of persecu
ton, moreover. He merely put in force decree o
Hadrian. The cruelties practised upon the Chris
tians in Gau and elsewhere during
his reign were the outcome of pOpu
lar intolerance and the acts of provincial gov
errors and officers. The Emperor himself appears
to have looked upon the Christians with a sort OF
curious contempt. weak-ninded and toO-willin
victims of deluson. But it cannot be doubted tina
If he could have ventured to defy public prejudc
he would have practised liberation toward then
for that was the natural bent of his disposition