About this title: In these personal reflections, the Roman emperor and second-century Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius discusses life, morality, duty, and community. Originally entitled "To Himself", the work did not surface until the fourth century, but it has inspired readers ever since.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Date Published: 1969
ISBN-13:9780140441406ISBN:0140441409
Description: Paperback, ex-library, with usual stamps and markings, in poor all round condition, suitable as a reading copy. pp., 250grams, ISBN: 0140441409. read more
Edition: First American Edition
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Books, London
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780143036272ISBN:0143036270
Description: Very Good. Used paperback in very good condition. This book is part of the Penguin Great Ideas series. The meditations of the great Roman philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius are simple yet profound works of stoic philosophy that continue to offer guidance and consolation to many with their eloquence, wisdom and humility. 163 pages. read more
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 8.16 by 5 inches. [allow 1-2 weeks transit to europe]. (00112 pages) lang=english accessory: no accessory (Paperback ) read more
Description: Pictorial Wraps. Very Good. Vg Penguin reprint translated by Maxwell Staniforth By nature a saint and a sage, by profession a ruler and warrior. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD
Date Published: 1969
ISBN-13:9780140441406ISBN:0140441409
Description: Published by Penguin Books Ltd in 1969. Paperback. Number of pages: 192. Condition: Good. Used book but in Good Condition for sensible price. #8369721 Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: DOVER PUBLICATIONS
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780486298238ISBN:048629823X
Description: Published by DOVER PUBLICATIONS in 1998. Paperback. Condition: Very Good. May show some wear. #7770100 Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: WORDSWORTH CLASSICS
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780486298238ISBN:048629823X
Description: Published by WORDSWORTH CLASSICS in 1997, 200 pages, paperback, medium size, covers good, internally good, boards good. Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Dover Publications
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780486298238ISBN:048629823X
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 112 p. Dover Thrift Editions. Audience: General/trade. New and Instock read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780879757021ISBN:0879757027
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 122 p. Great Books in Philosophy. Audience: General/trade. U-34 read more
"This book is a great introduction to stoic thought. Marcus Aurelius became emperor by a double twist of fate across two generations. He may have become Plato's "philosopher king". Now read his thoughts while on campaign, jotted by the fire, to none but himself.
The essential thought seems to be if someone does not harm your character, how can they harm you? And you determine who affects your character. Therefore, you are impervious.
Life shows that this is easier thought than done. But still, it is encouraging . . . .
Also, book ii, page 17, by the river phaedon, is a great place to plunge in."
"The writing in the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, written by this wise Roman Emperor, is very flowing, personable, and readable, almost like a personal letter in tone, easy to understand as a man's journal and thoughts for himself. Reading it makes me wish that I could have sat in Aurelius's presence and listened to him, talked with him. Having his writings is the next best thing, and one can read him as if one were in his presence.
"Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; ...all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist." This is Thich Nhat Hanh's inter-being, isn't it? Aurelius goes on to equate Zeus with the universe, thus bridging the gap between theism and a non-theistic appreciation of underlying order. Living and dying are like a breathing in and a breathing out: we breathe in and are born, we breathe out and we die; nothing more and nothing less, so why fret? And the universe goes on, continually remaking itself and its manifestations.
Aurelius's work is really a "personalized" Epictetus. It is more a series of aphorisms than an extended discourse. As Epictetus' work is ideal as a didactic exposition of the principles of Stoicism, Aurelius' work would be ideal as a small handbook of wisdom to be kept at one's side and dipped into regularly as a source of seeds for contemplation. It is a wise and charming book, a perfect companion for living."
"If you read Marcus Aurelius like he's a Buddhist, it makes it awesome. I had fun picking out lines that sound like a stodgy Roman Pema Chodron:
"Every hour of the day give vigorous attention, as a Roman and as a man, to the performance of the task in hand with precise analysis, with unaffected dignity, with human sympathy, with dispassionate justice -- and to vacating your mind from all its other thoughts. And you will achieve this vacation if you perform each action as if it were the last of your life: freed, that is, from all lack of aim, from all passion-led deviation from the ordinance of reason, from pretense, from love of self, from dissatisfaction with what fate has dealt you.""
"This translation is better than other translations. If you are going to buy it, don't buy it from Barnes & Noble as I stupidly did. It cost about $22! What a rip-off. It's under $5, used, on Amazon. I could have returned it -- and could still, I guess -- but I had already exchanged a copy of Meditations with a terrible translation (H. Long) for this one. And I don't think I could withstand the glares of the floor manager at B&N trying to return a book I had already exchanged a book for.
And that is my story about Emperor Marcus Aurelius' Meditations."
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