[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-41065-en":3,"doc-seo-41065-105":28,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":11,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":20,"language":21,"language_code":22,"site_id":23,"html_lang":22,"table_of_contents":24,"faqs":25,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":26,"read_time":27},41065,1099514068365,"Aurelia","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/10000253d8d9f28188e?_k=1776742907772140068",1,"Story & Novel","Marcus Aurelius and the Stoic Preparation for Death","A winter at the Roman northern frontier frames the dying final days of Emperor Marcus Aurelius during the Antonine Plague. The narrative centers on his calm, Stoic practice of contemplating mortality, shaped by adoption, education in philosophy, and lifelong losses. Surrounded by medical signs and failing strength, he withdraws to private reflection, mentally addressing his own symptoms and the vanished emperors before him. Death is portrayed as an ever-present shadow, met with rational acceptance.","The year is 180 AD.As another long anddifficult winter draws to a close on thenorthern frontier,the Roman emperorMarcus Aurelius lies dying in bed at hismilitary camp in Vindobona(modern-day Vienna).Six days ago he was strickenwith a fever,and the symptoms havebeen worsening rapidly.It's clear to hisphysicians that he is finally about tosuccumb to the great Antonine Plague(probably a strain of smallpox),whichhas been ravaging the empire for the pastfourteen years.Marcus is nearly sixtyand physically frail,and all the signsshow he's unlikely to recover.However,tothe physicians and courtiers present heseems strangely calm,almost indifferent.He has been preparing for this momentmost of his life.The Stoic philosophy hefollows has taught him to practice con-templating his own mortality calmly andrationally.To learn how to die,accordingto the Stoics,is to unlearn how to be aslave.  \nThis philosophical attitude towarddeath didn't come naturally to Marcus.His father passed away when Marcuswas only a few years old,leaving him asolemn child.When he reached seven-teen,he was adopted by the EmperorAntoninus Pius as part of along-termsuccession plan devised by his prede-cessor,Hadrian,who had foreseen thepotential for wisdom and greatness inMarcus even as a small boy.Nevertheless,he had been most reluctant to leave hismother's home for the imperial palace.Antoninus summoned the finest teachersof rhetoric and philosophy to train Mar-cus in preparation for succeeding him asemperor.Among his tutors were expertson Platonism and Aristotelianism,buthis main philosophical education was inStoicism.These men became like familyto him.When one of his most belovedtutors died,it's said that Marcus wept soviolently that the palace servants triedto restrain him.They were worried thatpeople would find his behavior unbecom-  \ning of a future ruler.However,Antoninustold them to leave Marcus alone:\"Lethim be only a man for once;for neitherphilosophy nor empire takes away nat-ural feeling.\"Years later,after havinglost several young children,Marcus wasonce again moved to tears in public whilepresiding over a legal case,when he heardan advocate say in the course of his argu-ment:“Blessed are they who died in theplague.”  \nMarcus was a naturally loving andaffectionate man,deeply affected by loss.Over the course of his life,he increasinglyturned to the ancient precepts of Stoicismas a way of coping when those closest tohim were taken.Now,as he lies dying,hereflects once again on those he has lost.Afew years earlier,the Empress Faustina,his wife of thirty-five years,passed away.He'd lived long enough to see eight oftheir thirteen children die.Four of hiseight daughters survived,but only oneof his five sons,Commodus.Death waseverywhere,though.During Marcus'sreign,millions of Romans throughoutthe empire had been killed by war or dis-ease.The two went hand in hand,as thelegionary camps were particularly vul-nerable to outbreaks of plague,especiallyduring the long winter months.The airaround him is still thick with the sweetsmell of frankincense,which the Romansvainly hoped might help prevent thespread of the disease.For over a decadenow,the scent of smoke and incense hadbeen a reminder to Marcus that he wasliving under the shadow of death andthat survival from one day to the nextshould never be taken for granted.  \nInfection with the plague wasn't al-ways fatal.However,Marcus's celebratedcourt physician,Galen,had observedthat victims inevitably die when theirfeces turn black,a sign of intestinalbleeding.Perhaps that's how Marcus'sdoctors know he is dying,or maybe theyjust realize how frail he's become withage.Throughout his adult life he hadbeen prone to chronic chest and stomachpains and bouts of illness.His appetitehad always been poor.Now he voluntar-ily rejects food and drink to hasten hisown demise.Socrates used to say thatdeath is like some prankster in a scarymask,dressed as a bogeyman to frightensmall children.The wise man carefullyremoves the mask and,lookin","cbCaii44OMQIMwfk","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaii44OMQIMwfk","pdf",8810417,11,"English","en",105,"# Death and the Antonine Plague\n## Stoic preparation and calm acceptance\n## Childhood, education, and personal losses\n## Illness, physicians, and deliberate reflection","[{\"question\":\"Why does Marcus Aurelius remain unusually calm as he dies?\",\"answer\":\"He follows Stoic teachings that encourage rational contemplation of mortality. He has been preparing his whole life to face death calmly and without fear.\"},{\"question\":\"How did Marcus’s upbringing and education shape his views on death?\",\"answer\":\"He was adopted by Emperor Antoninus Pius and trained by tutors in philosophy, with Stoicism as his main education. Their guidance helped him develop emotional resilience through exercises on mortality.\"},{\"question\":\"What role do illness and medical observations play in the scene?\",\"answer\":\"Doctors recognize symptoms consistent with the Antonine Plague and his frailty with age. Marcus also instructs his physicians to describe his condition in detail so he can contemplate it while withdrawing to private meditation.\"}]",1783318442,17,{"code":4,"msg":29,"data":30},"ok",{"site_id":23,"language":22,"slug":31,"title":13,"keywords":32,"description":14,"schema_data":33,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":26},"marcus-aurelius-and-the-stoic-preparation-for-death","",{"@graph":34,"@context":84},[35,52,67],{"@type":36,"itemListElement":37},"BreadcrumbList",[38,42,46,49],{"item":39,"name":40,"@type":41,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":43,"name":44,"@type":41,"position":45},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":47,"name":12,"@type":41,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":50,"name":13,"@type":41,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/marcus-aurelius-and-the-stoic-preparation-for-death/41065/",4,{"url":50,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":22,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":39,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-11","2026-07-06",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":11},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"Why does Marcus Aurelius remain unusually calm as he dies?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"He follows Stoic teachings that encourage rational contemplation of mortality. He has been preparing his whole life to face death calmly and without fear.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"How did Marcus’s upbringing and education shape his views on death?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"He was adopted by Emperor Antoninus Pius and trained by tutors in philosophy, with Stoicism as his main education. Their guidance helped him develop emotional resilience through exercises on mortality.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"What role do illness and medical observations play in the scene?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"Doctors recognize symptoms consistent with the Antonine Plague and his frailty with age. Marcus also instructs his physicians to describe his condition in detail so he can contemplate it while withdrawing to private meditation.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":50,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":57,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":50},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":23},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,95,99,103,108,113,118,123,128,131,135],{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},90,"story-novel",{"id":45,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":51,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":104,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]