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Title: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Gregory Hays ISBN: 0-8129-6825-5 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Way, way before its time
Comment: Meditations is the kind of book you can just open up to any page and learn from, a still-relevant lesson about how to set priorities in what Socrates called the examined life. It is also a fascinating tour of the mind of Marcus Aurelius, the military leader, emperor, educator, philanthropist, and philosopher who remains one of history's most noble protagonists, and whose writings reveal the loneliness of his soul without being bitter.
This is a must-have book for the nightstand of anyone living a contemplative life, a profound precursor to modern self-help books written by a Renaissance man who lived centuries before the Renaissance.
There is no plot to summarize here, no accurate generalizations to be made. One gets the idea that these are thoughts the author jotted down, sometimes between appointments and sometimes after months of contemplation. Often they are obvious, sometimes they are obscure. They can seem rooted in history, and at times based on today's current events. They can be funny, surprising, or sad. But they are almost always worthwhile.
A final note: I have two editions of this book, and while I think both this one and the Hicks' translation are very good, I prefer this by a small degree.
Rating: 5
Summary: a diamond
Comment: The Meditations are terse statements, aphorisms, notes, even reminders. Some are like fragmented dialogues, which I find fascinated. Some are very hard to get a hold of. Others remarkably clear. Summarizing them is hard, and surely misleading, but they seem frequently to stand against illusions and mistaken judgments, especially in the face of frustration, desire, fear, and anger. The positive dimension of this is harder to describe (maybe because I have yet to know it firsthand): calmness, purpose, self-control, and a true reckoning of what will matter in the end, as understood in terms of the harmony and essential order of all things. He can be difficult in places, but at other times it is as though he sees into your soul.
I think Marcus Aurelius will strike readers very differently based on where they are coming from. Some readers will resonate with his insistence on self-awareness, equanimity, and responsibility for one's own mental state and reactions. Other readers will be attracted by his ethical standards, commitment to the common good, and sense of divine harmony in all events. Others will simply enjoy his sobering reflection and insightful commentary on human nature. Historians will be fascinated with a look into the mind of a Roman emperor, seemingly untouched by the affairs of state (they are hardly mentioned in the text). Philosophers will enjoy learning about Stoic thought in praxis and how he's picked up the thought of other Greek thinkers (Epictetus, Chrysippus, Heraclitus, etc). Perhaps one of the most amazing things is how he might appeal equally to readers from very different backgrounds, a testament to the complexity of his thinking.
This particular edition comes with a very good introduction that answers questions of history, religion, philosophy, and thematic ideas. I highly recommend it to those interested in Marcus Aurelius and his philosophical thought. In addition, Gregory Hays is a masterful translator who, I think, has taken care to convey the meaning of the original Greek in appropriate English counterparts.
The first chapter is a beautiful one that describes Marcus Aurelius' gratitude to the many people that have positively influenced him, in each case telling what it is that he gained from them. Might we do the same someday ourselves? Though it is highly selective for me to do so (leaving out big chunks of what the book is like, especially the more obviously Stoic in form and content--such as the fleeting transience of life), below are just a few of my favorite quotes.
"The best revenge is not to be like that."
"You can hold your breath until you turn blue, but they'll still go on doing it."
"It was for the best. So nature had no choice but to do it."
"Forget the future. When and if it comes, you'll have the same resources to draw on--the same Logos."
"Remember that our efforts are subject to circumstances; you weren't aiming to do the impossible. --aiming to do what then? --To try. And you succeeded. What you set out to do is accomplished."
"Think of yourself as dead. You've lived your life. Now take what's left and live it properly."
"...people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own--not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him..."
Rating: 5
Summary: Two for the price of one
Comment: This book is really two pamphlets in one. Each is well worth reading in its own right. Together, they are a real treat.
In the introduction, the author provides a high level but highly instructive overview of the life and times of Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome from A.D. 161 until his death in 180. From the brief biography of Marcus through the discussion of the philosophical traditions that informed the Emperor and, ultimately, the Meditations, to the summary of recurring themes, the Introduction is very worthwhile reading. The author conveniently includes some suggestions for further reading to allow any who are interested to plunge well below the surface that is only lightly touched here.
The heart of the book, the Meditations themselves, is a superb and enduring testament to the community of humankind. Written nearly 2000 years ago, the Meditations, which Marcus never expected to be read by anyone other than himself and, perhaps, his son, reveal how consistently and deeply themes like death, integrity, ethics, and tolerance affect all people at all times. Perhaps the most notable reaction to reading this very accessible translation is that here, speaking across 20 centuries, is the basis for a successful career as a 21st Century "self-help guru".
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Title: The Art of Living : The Classical Mannual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness by Epictetus, Sharon Lebell ISBN: 0062513222 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 06 October, 1995 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Meditations (Penguin Classics) by Marcus Aurelius, Maxwell Staniforth, Marcus ISBN: 0140441409 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: October, 1964 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Enchiridion by Epictetus, George Long ISBN: 0879757035 Publisher: Promethean Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 1955 List Price(USD): $7.00 |
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Title: Stoic Philosophy of Seneca Essays and Letters by Seneca, Moses Hadas ISBN: 0393004597 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: September, 1968 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Handbook of Epictetus by Nicholas P. White ISBN: 0915145693 Publisher: Hackett Pub Co Pub. Date: June, 1983 List Price(USD): $3.95 |
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