Name: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Rating: 4.300704225352113 (355 reviews)

Marcus Aurelius

Jeremy Collier

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

Offers a modern translation of the Roman philosopher's journal.

The Meditations

Ans Rizwan

Started reading this on a whim. The things you feel when you understand that someone centuries before you was also struggling with shit you are now struggling with can't be explained in words man. Thanks Marcus, you one of the realest mfers I know

Meditations

Victor

Definitely a reread with some note taking. Hard to make any sense of it first time round 

Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 CE, and is considered the last of the Five Good Emperors. He was a Stoic Philosopher and his work The Meditations (literally things to one’s self) is a set of private notes and thoughts. It is considered to be one of the greatest extant works of stoic philosophy. Each translation of The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius takes some liberties. Words are added and some removed in order to better reach meaning and understanding. This latest translation and new modern edition is meant to restore some of these missing elements, and provide a clear and accurate presentation of this great classic in English.

New Modern Edition

The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

 is kind of a dry, repetitive slog to get through. Since it was just a Roman emperor's private journal that was never meant for anyone else's eyes, it doesn't have a plot or a nice flow, it mostly reads like a guy hammering the exact same reminders into his own head over and over just to keep himself grounded.

Still, looking past the repetition, some of the messages are genuinely powerful. The idea that you can only control your internal reactions and not external events is something we really need to remember more often.

What's wild to me is that this was written around 200 AD by one of the most powerful people on the planet. Instead of bragging or keeping a historical record, he used his private pages to keep his ego in check and talk himself into being a better person. The fact that a guy living two millennia ago had the exact same inner struggles we deal with today, and that his advice still holds up completely, makes it feel surprisingly easy to connect with him.

Will Swan

Meditations is kind of a dry, repetitive slog to get through. Since it was just a Roman emperor's private journal that was never meant for anyone else's eyes, it doesn't have a plot or a nice flow, it mostly reads like a guy hammering the exact same reminders into his own head over and over just to keep himself grounded.

Still, looking past the repetition, some of the messages are genuinely powerful. The idea that you can only control your internal reactions and not external events is something we really need to remember more often.

What's wild to me is that this was written around 200 AD by one of the most powerful people on the planet. Instead of bragging or keeping a historical record, he used his private pages to keep his ego in check and talk himself into being a better person. The fact that a guy living two millennia ago had the exact same inner struggles we deal with today, and that his advice still holds up completely, makes it feel surprisingly easy to connect with him.

Meditations (Medieval Greek: Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν, romanized: Ta eis he'auton, lit. 'things to one's self') is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. It is possible that large portions of the work were written at Sirmium, where he spent much time planning military campaigns from 170 to 180. Some of it was written while he was positioned at Aquincum on campaign in Pannonia, because internal notes tell us that the first book was written when he was campaigning against the Quadi on the river Granova (modern-day Hron) and the second book was written at Carnuntum.

Greg Pyle

It's difficult to review a book that has been read by many thousands or millions of people over the past two thousand years or so, including world leaders, philosophers and other academics, athletes, and everyday people who just want to live their best lives possible. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome (161-180), was never intended to be read by anyone other than its author. It is a collection of Aurelius' thoughts as they occurred to him, presumably over the course of his life. This book has no plot, no story arc, and no relatable characters, per se. Instead, it's a record of his daily journal that has been translated, interpreted, and transcribed repeatedly down through the ages. The individual entries have been compiled into 12 books, which are loosely arranged in chronological order; although there is some debate about that. This book is remarkable for two important reasons. It provides a glimpse into the thoughts of a Roman emperor, and it defines his personal life philosophy. Aurelius was a student of Stoic philosophy, which he carried with him throughout his life. Meditations represents his version of Stoic philosophy as he applied it to his own life. It's this philosophy that informed his approach not just as a ruler, but also as a human being. The philosophical virtues that were important to Aurelius and other ancient Stoic philosophers transcend time and are just as applicable today as they were back then. This is not a book to be read once and returned to the shelf to collect dust. It's meant to be read slowly and repeatedly; it's meant to be studied. I found myself often reflecting on individual passages while I searched for ways these ideas were relevant to me and my own circumstances. I've only read this book once, but it's clear to me that new revelations are likely to be revealed with each subsequent reading. Very few books can maintain their relevance beyond a few decades, let alone centuries or millennia. But this one does. This is one book to which I will return often as I polish my own personal philosophy, as so many have done before me.

Wilhelm Capelle

Selbstbetrachtungen.

Mark Aurels Selbstbetrachtungen treiben seit knapp zwei Jahrtausenden Demut und Gelassenheit in die Gemüter der Menschen, ganz ohne ihre Wirkung zu verlieren. Es ist erstaunlich und lehrreich zu lesen, wie viele existentielle Fragen über den Umgang mit Natur und anderen Menschen allweil den Verstand zu beschäftigen scheinen.

Ich bin mir sicher, dass jeder aus dieser Selbstreflexion Lehren für sich selbst mitnehmen kann. Die zugrundeliegende stoische Lebensphilosophie mag bestimmt weitergehend eine positive Auswirkung haben, dennoch methodisch überholt sein. Das ständige asketische Mahnen, die uneindeutigen Sitten und Tugenden einzuhalten, und der angreifbaren Natur folgen zu sollen, greift für die heutige epistemologische Philosophie zu kurz.

Abschließend ist es schön, dieses historische Werk gelesen zu haben und viele Aphorismen notiert und mitnehmen zu können. Es bietet eine wunderschöne Perspektive auf das Leben, doch keine, die versucht wahrheitsgetreu zu sein, sondern eher verhaltenspsychologischen Charakter mit sich bringt und dadurch dennoch Wirkung zeigt.

Jorit Vásconez Gerlach

Mark Aurels Selbstbetrachtungen treiben seit knapp zwei Jahrtausenden Demut und Gelassenheit in die Gemüter der Menschen, ganz ohne ihre Wirkung zu verlieren. Es ist erstaunlich und lehrreich zu lesen, wie viele existentielle Fragen über den Umgang mit Natur und anderen Menschen allweil den Verstand zu beschäftigen scheinen.

Ich bin mir sicher, dass jeder aus dieser Selbstreflexion Lehren für sich selbst mitnehmen kann. Die zugrundeliegende stoische Lebensphilosophie mag bestimmt weitergehend eine positive Auswirkung haben, dennoch methodisch überholt sein. Das ständige asketische Mahnen, die uneindeutigen Sitten und Tugenden einzuhalten, und der angreifbaren Natur folgen zu sollen, greift für die heutige epistemologische Philosophie zu kurz.

Abschließend ist es schön, dieses historische Werk gelesen zu haben und viele Aphorismen notiert und mitnehmen zu können. Es bietet eine wunderschöne Perspektive auf das Leben, doch keine, die versucht wahrheitsgetreu zu sein, sondern eher verhaltenspsychologischen Charakter mit sich bringt und dadurch dennoch Wirkung zeigt.

Can't complain much cause it's undeniably personal. He calls himself out yet somehow it feels like he's calling you out too. A bit frightening in its honesty. 

How to live a better life. One of the most important books on Western philosophy - a powerful and inspirational guide for the complicated world of today 'Refreshing and restorative' GUARDIAN 'An ancient work of spiritual reflection which remains a powerful reminder of how we could live a more dignified life by avoiding deceit, vanity and greed' OK MAGAZINE Few ancient works have been as influential as the MEDITATIONS of Marcus Aurelius. Filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behaviour, it 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 translation Marcus's thoughts speak with a new immediacy. Never before have Marcus's insights been so directly and powerfully presented.

Fascinating that something written 2000 years ago could seem so applicable to this day. A valuable piece of literature when interested in stoicism. 

I found a lot of it served as reminders, not so much a lesson.

Liam Richardson

Fascinating that something written 2000 years ago could seem so applicable to this day. A valuable piece of literature when interested in stoicism. 

I found a lot of it served as reminders, not so much a lesson.

Filled with short passages of Stoic wisdom

It is amazing to have access to an emperor's private notes. I should have expected the repetition and discontinuity, but I was a bit bored at some points.

I now have a more well-rounded understanding and respect for Stoicism. Yet strangely, my biggest takeaway is an exposure to a self-critical form of journalling/note-taking.

Joe Zimet

Filled with short passages of Stoic wisdom

It is amazing to have access to an emperor's private notes. I should have expected the repetition and discontinuity, but I was a bit bored at some points.

I now have a more well-rounded understanding and respect for Stoicism. Yet strangely, my biggest takeaway is an exposure to a self-critical form of journalling/note-taking.

Packed with wisdom, although a bit overhyped in my view. Learning something specific will take you longer reading the whole thing front to back than getting a second POV on the stance of the author regarding a specific subject. 

Julian Paul

Insightful and calming. Helped me get into a more peaceful headspace and be able to look at the world in a more hopeful and detached way. The kind of book I’d like to reread as I get older.

Angeline Bien

Christian Bager Bach Houmann

It was quite the experience to dive into the thoughts of Marcus Aurelius, and comparing them to the modern ways of thinking and then seeing how true they still stand truly astound me.

Solid thinking and so impressive to see just how little has changed about the human condition since 2000 years ago.

The book itself though is a bit tough to read, with no real sense of progression

PG Gonni

Solid thinking and so impressive to see just how little has changed about the human condition since 2000 years ago.

The book itself though is a bit tough to read, with no real sense of progression

Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Frank Huang

A historical gem and great intro to stoicism. Lost a star for repetitiveness that couldn’t really be helped due to the medium, but it was rough to keep reading about this guy repetitively try to make himself feel better about mortality as well as having a slave owner keep talking about things have a natural order (including slavery)

something to come back and read every now and then

robert preswick

Tanner Christensen

I find myself returning to Meditations from time-to-time as the years pass, and it always gives me a feeling of rejuvenation, a reminder of enlightenment. Aurelius' words are as timeless as they are impactful. He reminds us, in so few words, how to live not only a good life, but a fulfilled life. One of purpose, passion, and virtue.

There are many translations which do a poor job of executing Aurelius' work, but the gist of the lessons are simple enough to make it through (if you can get over the terrible formatting, i.e. Kindle).

Reihan Maulana

"Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius is a journal where Aurelius may have documented his experiences, including difficult days, to help control his mind. He journals everything he can think of that he’s grateful for. His thoughts on the impermanence of life, the importance of self-discipline, and the pursuit of inner tranquility are insightful. 

For me, it's a little hard to read, but I managed to get through it. "Meditations" is one of my favorite philosphy books because when I read it, I always get the impression of a mind diligently trying to work things out, rather than that of a master philosopher who already has all the answers.

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

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