“What we do in life echoes in eternity”
” Every hour make up thy mind sturdily as a Roman and a man to
do what thou hast in hand with scrupulous and unaffected dignity
and love of thy kind and independence and justice; and to give
thyself rest from all other impressions.” – Meditations II, 5
Maximus Decimus Meridius – Biography
Was born in the hills somewhere between Trujillo and Merida in
the municipality of Caceres in Hispania in AD
152. He was the son of Meridius, the governor of the
province, and of Lucretia, the daughter of the Roman Senator
Bodaus.
He was sent to school at the age of eight to Hispalis, and
studied under the tutelage of Fulvus, the stoic philospher. He
joined the army at 17 as a Standard Bearer.He fought in campaigns
against the Celts in Britannia and against the Parthians in
Cappadocia. Honored for his bravery under the fire of battle, he
moved up through the ranks as optio, centurion, and then as primus
pilus of the First Cohort under General Lucius Veras.
Marcus Aurelius, a friend of Maximus’s father and father-in-law,
appointed him Legate of the Emperor’s Legion in AD
176. He was the youngest general so appointed in Roman
history.
http://www.murphsplace.com/gladiator/max2.html