The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

By Marcus Aurelius

Book Overview

This 1742 translation is a collaborative work by Francis Hutcheson and a colleague at Glasgow University, the classicist James Moor. Although Hutcheson was secretive about the extent of his work on the book, he was clearly the leading spirit of the project.

This influential classical work offers a vision of a universe governed by a natural law that obliges us to love mankind and to govern our lives in accordance with the natural order of things.

In many ways, Hutcheson and Moor's The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus is a companion volume to Hutcheson's Latin work on ethics, released in the same year, Philosophiae Moralis Institutio Compendiaria. In the latter volume, which is also available from Liberty Fund, Hutcheson continues a theme that proffered his ethics as a modern and, not least, Christianized version of Stoicism.

Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746) was educated at the University of Glasgow, where he assumed the chair of moral philosophy in 1729.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865975116
• ISBN13: 9780865975118
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Liberty Fund
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Postsecondary to Grade 5

Customer Reviews

Definitely not in "Good" condition

Bought this as a gift for my son but it looks like it has been water damaged, not what I would call "good" condition.

Best book I’ve read!

This book helped change my perspective on life. Helped me to find a more positive mindset and allows me to fight everyday struggles more easily. If the most powerful man in the world battled his inner demons and won, I can too!

Fast Shipping, Exact Condition As Described

Shipping much faster than expected, and the book came in the exact condition as expected. This is my favorite translation of Meditations so far! Easy to read and comprehend, but still elegant.

Like New Condition

Came in like new condition.

2000 year old wisdom at your fingertips

I couldn't help chuckling and nodding my head continually while reading Marcus' Meditations. His thoughts and life principles can be seen as repetitious through out Meditations (the books within it pretty much cover the same territory over and over, but actually cement his views firmly within your mind)yet they will give you great pause and reflection upon your own life. I can't think of any better primer for living in today's crazed, money-obsessed, celebrity-driven and unbelievably shallow world. He is a Stoic by definition, of course, but the man really knew the world and Man all too well and he would find no surprise in the opinionated, self-righteous nature of the 21st century. It's a short book, but is best read slowly and savored intellectually. I couldn't help but feel that all the Tony Robbins, Eckhard Tolles, Wayne Dyers, Deepok Chopras and Dr's Phils of our silly world pale next to his simple, yet solid principles and to some degree their books are derivitive of Aurelius' work. Highly recommended! I never reread books - there are too many wanting my time, but I will do so with this one. In truth it's a startling honest and insightful book of how to run your life and should be stuck in your backpack or suitcase for those times when you lose your patience with people, grow disillusioned and world-weary, or just want to travel back through time and communicate with a man that actually ran the entire Western World for a while, a man who took never took himself or the trappings of the world all that seriously.

A timeless meditation book for anyone

Here is a great book of meditations for both believers and atheists. Marcus Aurelius was emperor of Rome with an unfaithful wife, a worthless son, and the duties of leading an army for 13 years in what is now Germany. Trying to cheer and console himself in the middle of a desolate area, he wrote down what he remembered of the Stoic philosophy which he had studied. His thoughts are inspiring and provoking. This is the book you want with you when life becomes tough. As Marcus' view of god is a pantheistic one, anyone can profit from his thoughts, whether atheist or believer. A book to read ever few years. Highly recommended.