Ananeou seauton. Rozmyślania Marka Aureliusza w kontekście grecko-rzymskiej praktyki filozoficznej

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations in the context of the Graeco-Roman philosophical practice The Meditations were most probably written without any intention of them being made public, which means that Marcus Aurelius did not feel obliged to provide any metatextual comments on the meaning and function of the particular chapters, as well as the whole book. Therefore, the Meditations can be compared to a play without stage directions. In order to understand such a play correctly, it would be necessary to reestablish the whole context in which the characters exchange their dialogues. But first and foremost, one should be aware that this text emerged from stage practice and refers to it. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to analyze Marcus Aurelius' Meditations in the context of Graeco-Roman philosophy, with attention paid to how philosophical doctrines were practised in antiquity. The Meditations are composed of a series of written exercises subjected to a specific formal rigour. There are many utterances with an iterative meaning, referring to repetitive events and predictable threats. Many statements in the Meditations are imperative, hortatory, or consolatory. Therefore, the work should not be understood as a collection of descriptive beliefs, but rather as prescriptive and normative instructions. It is possible that similar philosophical notebooks, or aide-memoires, were composed in antiquity by various authors who wanted to exercise philosophical doctrines in the form of day-to-day inner dialogue, but the Meditations are the only testimony of that practice. I point out that the persuasive language of the Meditations shows similarities with some argumentative strategies that can be found in ancient rhetoric. Besides, I single out numerous stylistic examples that confirm the influence of rhetoric on Marcus' prose. The goal of rhetoric, i.e. persuasion, coincides with the goal of written philosophical exercises which aim at persuading their practitioners to accept a given set of beliefs. Consequently, the stylistic and rhetorical means used in Marcus' text well harmonize with the goal of philosophical exercises. Moreover, it must not be forgotten that in ancient times rhetorical education consisted primarily of exercises, both at the school level and at the level of a mature orator. It provides another important parallel between rhetoric and philosophy. Given that the repetitive written exercises played a crucial role in Marcus' philosophical practice, I pose the question about the status of the written versus spoken word in Graeco-Roman philosophy and rhetoric. Discussing this problem, I focus on the the mimetic value of the written word, i.e. its potential to reflect both human characters and the physical world. While analyzing the controversy between the the written and the spoken word in antiquity, I refer to Plato, Alcidamas, Isocrates, Epicurus, Lucretius, Seneca, and Epictetus, who pondered this issue. The ancient controversy is confronted with the ongoing debate on orality and literacy. Summing up, I present the Meditations as a type of text in which the writer's thinking and attitude are subjected to a particular practice of writing, a practice aimed at the internalization of the principles of philosophy. This practice is deeply rooted in ancient philosophical and rhetorical tradition.