Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library)

Product Information

When plumbing such depths of existential philosophy, having to reread a sentence three or four times just to fathom what's being said inevitably saps energy from the ability to ponder the actual meaning of the text, turning what should be an edifying delight into a frustrating chore. I started a journal, noting the pages that resonated with me so that I could refer back to them later. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who feels lost in life and is looking to find the tools on how to best approach life's uncertainties and challenges as well as rise above their circumstances.

This diary had its moments where a point connected with me and had me questioning something in my life which is why I gave it 3 stars. While I ask for nothing to be watered down, I recommend to any prospective reader the selection of a translation written in the language of the current century or, at the very least, the last one. The editio princeps (first print edition) of the original Greek was published by Conrad Gessner and his cousin Andreas in 1559. I read that passage to Liz, and she said, "I get that he's a stoic - I think he's not - but he WANTS to be - so he gives himself all these reminders.A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. It is just a different reading experience, one that I (a new, naïve reader) was neither expecting nor wanting. For all of the pessimism at times in the work, I find that Meditations is very quotable and that is where Meditations shines.

That I didn't lose my virginity too early, and didn't enter adulthood until it was time-put it off, even. And I think back to my life - and some of the more traumatic things that have happened to me, and I also like to think: I'm only a victim if I allow myself to be a victim.It also contains valuable excerpts from the correspondence between Marcus and his rhetoric tutor Marcus Cornelius Fronto. He talks about various aspects of how one can improve their lives by straightforward and consistent action. No bathing at strange hours, no self-indulgent building projects, no concern for food, or the cut and color of his clothes, or having attractive slaves. His acceptance of fate, instead of making him a defeatist, empowered him to be the best version he could be and fulfill what Nature demanded of him. Her reverence for the divine, her generosity, her inability not only to do wrong but even to conceive of doing it.

His "Meditations" is a loosely-organized set of thoughts relating to his stoic philosophy, now in an acclaimed new translation. I picked up both Meditations: A New Translation by Marcus Aurelius and translated by Gregory Hays and On the Shortness of Life by Seneca.

We are providing our personal opinion and it should not be taken as legal, financial, or tax advice. The translator's introduction agrees, and suggests that Marcus's pessimistic evaluation of human life is "impoverishing. Things like not giving in to anger, not being afraid of death–those are things that he seems to have really struggled with.

It was through him that I encountered Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion and Brutus, and conceived of a society of equal laws, governed by equality of status and of speech, and of rulers who respect the liberty of their subjects above all else. He’s more of an obscure historical figure, what are you trying to accomplish in bringing his voice to a wider audience? things to one's self') is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. While Meditations does have more popular one-liners, Letters from a Stoic maintains a degree of originality and has more relatable applications and examples of applying Stoicism towards everyday human experiences that’s just missing from Mediations.One is the Codex Palatinus (P), also known as the Codex Toxitanus (T), first published in 1558/9 but now lost. It should be audible in your voice, visible in your eyes, like a lover who looks into your face and takes in the whole story at a glance.