The answer to the question is YES, by his own standard, and he did it repeatedly.
But this is not a weakness in the story of Marcus Aurelius. It is the exact opposite, it is realistic and the reason his Meditations is still relevant today.
You see, the popular image of Marcus Aurelius is almost impossibly clean. Imagine that he was the philosopher-emperor, steady before war, illness, political pressure, betrayal, and loss. He was a man who had somehow mastered every impulse that troubles ordinary people. At least this is how he is portrayed in our minds. It is an attractive image, you have to admit. But … it is not the image we find in his own writing.
Meditations was not a polished philosophical book written to persuade an audience or make someone rich – as most of today’s books are. Meditations is a private collection of reminders, corrections, and exercises that Marcus practiced. He didn’t write Meditations to explain Stoicism from the summit of flawless wisdom. He was repeatedly bringing himself back to what he believed he ought to do, and this difference is essential.
