Episode · The Daily Stoic · 2022-08-10
Books mentioned on Donald Robertson on Marcus Aurelius and Understanding Stoicism
Ryan talks to author Donald Robertson about his new graphic novel Verissimus: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, the various influences that molded Marcus Aurelius into a philosopher king, how Stoicism is about unity and love, and more. Donald is a writer, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist and trainer.
Ryan Holiday discussed Verissimus by Donald J. Robertson, Meditations by Aurelius Marcus, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson, Marcus Aurelius by Henry Dwight Sedgwick, and Bible. Donald Robertson discussed The Manuscript Tradition of the Historia Augusta by Susan Helen Ballou.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Verissimus
Verissimus by Donald J.
Discussed“I was thinking we should start because I know you did this new book uh partly for your daughter and thinking about how the value of stoicism when you're young is really interesting to me”
Where to get it
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Meditations
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a profound collection of personal reflections and Stoic philosophy written by the Roman emperor.
Discussed“Marcus writes quite beautifully about his mother at the beginning of meditations here actually let me grab it because it might be people might like it”
Where to get it
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How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson is a modern exploration of Stoic philosophy that combines the life and psychological practices of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius with contemporary cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.
Discussed“and I learned a lot from your first book for instance”
Where to get it
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Marcus Aurelius
Discussed“but uh and then I've been I've been reading um uh Henry Sedgwick wrote this little biography of Mark Cerrillos that I'm reading right now a sort of lost uh or forgotten biography”
Where to get it
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The Manuscript Tradition of the Historia Augusta
Discussed“we're told that there's this weird phrase that kind of bugs me up in the history Augusta that says Marcus was brought up the Therma uses in in Latin literally means in the bosom of Hadrian”
Where to get it
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Bible
The Bible is a foundational anthology of sacred texts comprising ancient narratives, laws, poetry, and prophetic writings that form the cornerstone of Judeo-Christian faith and Western morality.
Discussed“It reminds me of this quote from William Blake that says we both read the Bible day and night but you read black where I read white”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“and actually I don't I've thought about this a lot because also I've written three books about Marcus now Rowan out I wrote a prose biography on Marcus for for Yale University press”