Marcus Aurelius. A Biography.

Routledge, London, 2000. Reprint rev.paperback ed. 320,(16)p. ills.(B&W photographs). Paperback. Nice copy. ?For the history of Christianity in the second century the two most important emperors are Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, and the church historian needs competent guides to the lives, thought, and policies of both. Professor Birley of Manchester is such a guide for the life of Marcus, and his work, (?) will be indispensable for understanding the latter half of the second century. He says it is a biography, not a ?life and times?, but he illuminates the times as well, especially in regard to Christianity. (?) One can find no better introduction than Birley?s book, with its sensible analyses and compendious quotations from the sources. This second edition brings the bibliography up to date and (?) clears up some imperial family relationships (Appendix 2) and considers research ?on the Greek intellectual renaissance, on Fronto, and on the emerging Christians? (?). An important chapter shows that the emperor?s ?Meditations? are not timeless but are related to the wartime situations in which he composed them. (?) In any event, the book should be in the hands of anyone concerned with early church history or the history of the Roman world.? (R.M. GRANT in Church History, 1988, pp.76-77). From the library of Prof. Carl Deroux.