Items related to Meditations

Meditations - Softcover

Book 17 of 67: Arcturus Ornate Classics

Aurelius, Marcus

  • 4.27 out of 5 stars
    380,583 ratings by Goodreads
 
9781945644573: Meditations
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1945644575 ISBN 13: 9781945644573
Publisher: Chump Change, 1890

Synopsis

Unabridged private reflections of the Emperor of Rome, on how one is to exist in a world of chaos. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and in the most accepted translation by George Long, is a book that belongs on everyone's shelf.

A favorite of Bill Clinton and John Steinbeck, and influencer of many others for 2,000 years, it is as relevant today to those in power struggles over empires and boardrooms as it was when it was first recorded.

This Value Classic Reprint provides a slim volume with full text at an affordable price.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of 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.

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Publisher
Chump Change
Publication date
1890
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1945644575
ISBN 13 
9781945644573
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
62
Rating
  • 4.27 out of 5 stars
    380,583 ratings by Goodreads