Meditations: (with Introduction, Appendix, Notes and Glossary) - Softcover

Aurelius, Marcus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 178139718X ISBN 13: 9781781397183

Publisher: Benediction Classics, 2016

Synopsis

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is a life-changing book. Among others, it contains the following reflections:

"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts."

"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ..."

"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live."

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is a life-changing book. It contains the private meditations of the most powerful man in the Roman world, the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, as he wrestled with the complexities of his life using the wisdom of Stoic Philosophy. Meditations is written in lucid, accessible language and, interestingly, we see that the problems and perplexities of this philosopher-King are much like ours. Marcus Aurelius was impressively able to live out his philosophical ideals-such as the importance of gratitude, mindfulness, simplicity and life-long learning, of seizing the day, and of remembering the shortness of life-while administering the Roman Empire.

Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) was the last of the five "good Roman emperors". The Emperor Hadrian adopted Titus Aurelius Antoninus, thereby choosing him to succeed him, and arranged for Antonius to adopt Marcus, and thus, from a young age, Marcus was groomed for power. During this time, he devoted himself to philosophy with passion and diligence. At the age of forty he became Emperor and was known as Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus. Remarkably in a culture of absolute power, he insisted that his adoptive brother and co-consul, Lucius, be elevated to co-emperor. The historian Herodian, a contemporary, wrote:

"he gave proof of his learning not by mere words or knowledge of philosophical doctrines but by his blameless character and temperate way of life."

Marcus Aurelius is now best remembered for Meditations, which is, perhaps, the greatest single work of Stoic philosophy.

Stoic philosophy is, above all, practical. It uses reason and the careful observation of human life to address the problems of daily life. It is also universal-the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the freed slave Epictetus were both prominent Stoic philosophers. In recent years, Stoic philosophy has provided invaluable life lessons to people in many spheres of life including prisoners of war and Holocaust survivors, psychiatrists, and those in the business world. Indeed, modern Stoic thought "hold[s] fascinating promise for business and government leaders tackling global problems in a turbulent, post-recession slump," (Forbes).

This edition is complete and unabridged and contains Introduction, Notes, Appendix containing correspondence with his tutor Fronto, and a Glossary.

About this title

Review

One measure, perhaps, of a book's worth, is its intergenerational pliancy: do new readers acquire it and interpret it afresh down through the ages? The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, translated and introduced by Gregory Hays, by that standard, is very worthwhile, indeed. Hays suggests that its most recent incarnation--as a self-help book--is not only valid, but may be close to the author's intent. The book, which Hays calls, fondly, a "haphazard set of notes," is indicative of the role of philosophy among the ancients in that it is "expected to provide a 'design for living.'" And it does, both aphoristically ("Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what's left and live it properly.") and rhetorically ("What is it in ourselves that we should prize?"). Whether these, and other entries ("Enough of this wretched, whining monkey life.") sound life-changing or like entries in a teenager's diary is up to the individual reader, as it should be. Hays's introduction, which sketches the life of Marcus Aurelius (emperor of Rome A.D. 161-180) as well as the basic tenets of stoicism, is accessible and jaunty. --H. O'Billovich

From the Back Cover

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus embodied in his person that deeply cherished, ideal figure of antiquity, the philosopher-king. His Meditations, written in moments snatched from military campaigns and the rigors of politics, reveal a mind of exceptional clarity and originality, and a spirit attuned to both the particulars of human destiny and the vast patterns which underlie it.

Edition details

• Publisher: Benediction Classics
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 178139718X
• ISBN 13: 9781781397183
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 140