When Marcus Aurelius looked back at the emperors who came before him—Caligula, Tiberius, Nero, Domitian, Julius Caesar, even Hadrian, who had adopted him—he wasn’t particularly impressed. Some were deranged. Others were lazy. Hadrian had a terrible temper. As a rule, his predecessors had wanted eternal fame and shrines and statues. But, Marcus points out, even if they could somehow know a shrine was put up, “would it please them?”
Marcus had no interest in posthumous fame. He was a private man. It’s a historical irony that today he is famous for a work of art he desperately wanted no one to see. What he really cared about was what he did in the moment, who he was as a person, how he responded to crises and difficulty. “Just that you do the right thing,” he told himself, “the rest doesn’t matter.” That would be his legacy, that would be his source of pride, not the buildings he erected or the conquests he made.
In early April, Queen Elizabeth II gave a rare public speech with essentially that message. One of Britain’s last living links to World War II, the Queen compared it to the way she today can look back with admiration for those who acted bravely. “I hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge,” the Queen said, “and those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humored resolve, and of fellow-feeling still characterize this country.”
Right now you are living through history—an event your kids and their kids will be asking about. Will you be able to take pride in how you responded to this challenge? Can you make this part of your quiet, noble legacy? Or are you simply waiting this out so you can go back to earning money or chasing fame? Will you be proud of who you were today?
That’s the question. That’s a way to measure—and make—an impressive life.
P.S. This was originally sent on August 5, 2020. Sign up today for the Daily Stoic’s email and get our popular free 7-day course on Stoicism.
