XIII: The "Mistress and Mother" of Palaces explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• The Search for Moral Principle and Right Conduct

  Aurelius's Stoic philosophy emphasizes tolerance, not being exigent with others, and maintaining virtue despite rumors about Faustina; he strives to see the good in people.

• Family, Domestic Affection, and Chastity

  The chapter depicts the imperial family as a domestic scene with children, birthday gifts, and Aurelius's tender references to his children's illnesses, contrasting with rumors of adultery.

• The Transition from Paganism to Christianity

  Aurelius is both a polytheist pontifex and a philosopher with a saintly halo, blending pagan ritual with a quasi-divine prestige that anticipates later Christian notions of sanctity.

Characters to notice

• Marius

  Visits the Palatine to meet Aurelius, dressed in the newest mode, retaining his country freshness; observes the imperial household with a sense of irony and self-possession.

• Marcus Aurelius

  Receives Marius with kindliness, converses in Latin with Greek phrases; portrayed as a Stoic philosopher and pontifex, maintaining authority without guards, yet surrounded by religious prestige.

• Faustina

  The empress, described as the most beautiful woman in the world, warming her hands over a fire; her expression is enigmatic and restless, and rumors about her conduct are noted.

• Commodus

  The young son of Aurelius and Faustina, standing beside his mother, plucking a rose to pieces; resembles his father but with feminine features and his mother's alert gaze.

• Cornelius Fronto

  Mentioned in the context of correspondence with Aurelius regarding Faustina.

• Lucius Verus

  Referenced as a brother to Aurelius, illustrating the emperor's wisdom in not being exigent with men.

Key passages

• “It was with real kindliness that Marcus Aurelius looked upon Marius, as a youth of great attainments in Greek letters and philosophy; and he liked also his serious expression, being, as we know, a believer in the doctrine of physiognomy—that, as he puts it, not love only, but every other affection of man's soul, looks out very plainly from the window of the eyes.”

  Marcus Aurelius regarded Marius kindly, appreciating his learning in Greek philosophy and his serious demeanor, as the emperor believed that a person's emotions are clearly visible through their eyes.

  Highlights Aurelius's belief in physiognomy and his favorable first impression of Marius.

• “Hard to himself, he seemed at times, doubtless, to decline too softly upon unworthy persons. Actually, he came thereby upon many a useful instrument.”

  Though strict with himself, Aurelius sometimes appeared too lenient with unworthy individuals, yet this leniency often yielded useful allies.

  Reflects Aurelius's practical wisdom in dealing with people, a theme of moral conduct.

• “The empress Faustina he would seem at least to have kept, by a constraining affection, from becoming altogether what most people have believed her, and won in her (we must take him at his word in the 'Thoughts,' abundantly confirmed by letters, on both sides, in his correspondence with Cornelius Fronto) a consolation, the more secure, perhaps, because misknown of others.”

  Aurelius's strong affection may have prevented Faustina from fully living up to the scandalous rumors about her, and he found in her a true consolation, as his writings and letters attest.

  Addresses the theme of family affection and the contrast between public rumor and private reality.