Marcus Aurelius: Philosopher king

According to Plato, "philosophers must become kings or kings must become philosophers before the world will have peace." Marcus Aurelius was probably the closest thing to a philosopher king the world has ever known.

He became known as a champion of the poor and of children-especially orphans and brought about many reforms with the idea of improving the condition of slaves. By all accounts he resisted what he saw as the corrupting trappings of power, remaining a sincere and simple human being capable of great kindness but a powerful and resolute leader. As the commander-in-chief of the Roman legions, he also successfully defended Rome against more invasions than any other emperor. He regarded Christians as the most subversive and dangerous elements within the Roman Empire and violently persecuted them. He warned that if Christianity were allowed to corrupt the intellects and souls of the citizens, the entire Roman Empire would fall and be destroyed in the end, not by physical assault from external enemies, but from within, ruined by the mental deterioration of its own people.

根据柏拉图的观点，“哲学家必须成为国王，或者国王必须成为哲学家，世界才会有和平。”马可·奥勒留可能是世界上最接近哲学家国王的人了。

他成为穷人和儿童——尤其是孤儿——的捍卫者，并为改善奴隶状况带来了许多改革。所有人都说，他抵制他所认为的腐败的权力外衣，仍然是一个真诚而简单的人，能够表现出极大的善意，但却是一个强大而坚定的领导人。作为罗马军团的总司令，他也成功地抵御了比其他任何皇帝都多的入侵。他认为基督徒是罗马帝国最具颠覆性和危险性的分子，并对他们进行了暴力迫害。他警告说，如果听任基督教腐蚀公民的智力和灵魂，整个罗马帝国最终将会灭亡和灭亡，不是外部敌人的身体攻击，而是来自内部，被本国人民的精神堕落所毁灭。