Marcus Aurelius

Randall name-checks philosophers — Hegel, Kant, Nietzsche, Plato, Marcus Aurelius — he misunderstands to his advantage and drops references to the Catiline Conspiracy and the Battle of Actium to make base actions sound important and dignified.

The subtext is text as Lucius delivers several speeches about “the dream of Rome” that he learned about at the knee of his grandfather, Marcus Aurelius.

Cesar quotes “Hamlet,” as well as Emerson, Marcus Aurelius and Ovid.

This commitment to keeping it real and mustering resistance to conformity is deeply ingrained in Stoic teachings, as evident in works such as "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius and "Discourses" by Epictetus.

Napoleon’s tent was set up in the pine forest on the same hilltop where we shot Marcus Aurelius’ camp.”