Meditations - Softcover

Aurelius, Marcus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1936041847 ISBN 13: 9781936041848

Publisher: Simon & Brown, 2011

Synopsis

It was during his campaigns against the barbarians that the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, wrote his famous "Meditations". They record the passing thoughts, the maxims and the musings on life and death of a sensitive and humble mind which had been trained in that stoic philosophy which contributed so much to Christianity. In this translation from the scholarly Greek in which Marcus kept his private journal, Staniforth gives us a simple and straightforward version of a work which has often been compared to "the imitation of Christ".

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 Inside Flap:

A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus's insights and advice--on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others--have made the "Meditations required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style.
In Gregory Hays's new translation--the first in a generation--Marcus's thoughts speak with a new immediacy: never before have they been so directly and powerfully presented.

"From the Trade Paperback edition.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Brown
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1936041847
• ISBN 13: 9781936041848
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 108