Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

By Marcus Aurelius

Book Overview

2019 Reprint of 1957 Edition. Abridged Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition and not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Illustrated by Paul McPharlin and translated by George Long. The Meditations has become a classic statement of the Stoic style or philosophy of life. Written in Greek by an intellectual Roman emperor without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a wide range of fascinating spiritual reflections and exercises developed as Marcus Aurelius struggled to understand himself and make sense of his world. Spanning from doubt and despair to conviction and exaltation, they cover such diverse topics as the question of virtue, human rationality, the nature of the gods and the values of leadership. While the Meditations were composed to provide personal consolation, Marcus eventually created one of the greatest of all works of philosophy: a series of wise and practical aphorisms that have been consulted and admired by statesmen, thinkers and ordinary readers for almost two thousand years.

A central theme to Meditations is the importance of analyzing one's judgment of self and others and the development of a cosmic perspective. As he said "You have the power to strip away many superfluous troubles located wholly in your judgment, and to possess a large room for yourself embracing in thought the whole cosmos, to consider everlasting time, to think of the rapid change in the parts of each thing, of how short it is from birth until dissolution, and how the void before birth and that after dissolution are equally infinite". He advocates finding one's place in the universe and sees that everything came from nature, and so everything shall return to it in due time. Another strong theme is of maintaining focus and to be without distraction all the while maintaining strong ethical principles such as "Being a good man".

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1684223105
• ISBN13: 9781684223107
• Release Date: February 2019
• Publisher: Martino Fine Books
• Length: 66 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

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.