This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.
HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Our life is what our thoughts make it The extraordinary writings of Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180), the only Roman emperor to have also been a stoic philosopher, have for centuries been praised for their wisdom, insight and guidance by leaders and great thinkers alike. Never intended for publication, Meditations are the personal notes born from a man who studied his unique position of power as emperor while trying to uphold inner balance in the chaotic world around him. Boldly challenging many of our biggest questions, Aurelius wrestles with the divided self, considering the complexities of human nature, rationality and moral virtue, affirming its place as one of the most timeless, significant works of philosophy to date. Competition: Discourses and Selected Writings; The Republic; Letters from a Stoic. Cicero; Cornutus; Epictetus; Plato; Seneca… (more)
Michael.Rimmer: I'm not claiming parity of quality or significance between Vaypayee and Marcus Aurelius, rather that it's interesting to consider the inner thoughts of a national leader in the context of their public actions.
Didn't finish the whole thing for various reason but got the idea from the first few books. Mostly just repeating basic ideas about right living that are never specified, how people shouldn't complain about their lives because it's right that they're where they are. It was philosophy of acceptance but without any details that made it interesting and with nothing to say to someone who's in a crappy place. Just dull, repetitive and doesn't say anything interesting. ( )
A man once told me that philosophy is where good thinking and good writing goes to die. And for about 95% of all philosophy books I have read, he is correct. This however falls into that 5% that actually has something to contribute. Recommended. ( )
"Meditations" is a collection of aphorisms, musings, quotes, and, essentially, diary entries from a Roman emperor who would have been one of Plato's Philosopher-Kings. Concerned greatly with his philosophy (a Stoicism mixed with other influences) and how he should live his life, these are essentially notes and reflections meant for himself. As such, it must be admitted that there is quite a lot of repetition here. In some sense that is actually not bad: it becomes quite obvious that Marcus Aurelius struggled often and greatly to live up to the values and ethics he believed in.
Note: this is not the kind of book you sit down and read through, but rather pick through over days. If you do try to just run through it the above-mentioned repetition will somewhat ruin it. ( )
The translation doesn't shrink from anachronism (there's talk of atoms) and sometimes verges on the new age: "Stay centred on that", "Let it hit you". But it's sparky and slangily readable, and for those who know Marcus only as the Richard Harris character in Ridley Scott's Gladiator, this is a chance to become better acquainted.
As a critic once said, the Meditations are an "unassailable wintry kingdom". But in the desert of 2003, their icy blasts are refreshing and restorative. They tell you the worst. And having heard the worst, you feel less bad.
Don't be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you've been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up? So what?
Remember… that everything has always been the same, and keeps recurring, and it makes no difference, whether you see the same things recur in hundred years or two hundred, or in an infinite period.
The impediment to action advances action.
What stands in the way becomes the way.
Remind yourself, that your task is to be a good human being; remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But with kindness. With humility. Without hypocrisy.
Don't let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole. Don't try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen. Stick with the situation at hand…
And you can also commit injustice by doing nothing.
If they've made a mistake, correct them gently, and show them where they went wrong. If you can't do that, then the blame lies with you. Or no one.
False friendship is the worst. Avoid it at all costs. If you're honest and straightforward and mean well, it should show in your eyes. It should be unmistakable.
Each of us needs what nature gives us, when nature gives it.
How much more damage, anger and grief do when the things that caused them.
If it's not right, don't do it. If it's not true, don't say it.
The fencer's weapon is picked up and put down again. The boxer's is part of him.
Last words
So make your exit with grace—the same grace shown to you.
HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Our life is what our thoughts make it The extraordinary writings of Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180), the only Roman emperor to have also been a stoic philosopher, have for centuries been praised for their wisdom, insight and guidance by leaders and great thinkers alike. Never intended for publication, Meditations are the personal notes born from a man who studied his unique position of power as emperor while trying to uphold inner balance in the chaotic world around him. Boldly challenging many of our biggest questions, Aurelius wrestles with the divided self, considering the complexities of human nature, rationality and moral virtue, affirming its place as one of the most timeless, significant works of philosophy to date. Competition: Discourses and Selected Writings; The Republic; Letters from a Stoic. Cicero; Cornutus; Epictetus; Plato; Seneca
▾Library descriptions
No library descriptions found.
▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description
Marcus Aurelius wrote 'Meditations' around 170 - 180, whilst on a campaign in central Europe, most probably in what is now Serbia, Hungary and Austria. The 12 books that make up 'Meditations' were not written as an exercise in explaining his philosophy but rather as a personal notebook for self-improvement and study. 'Meditations' illustrates just how important the Stoic Epictetus was to Marcus as he quotes the Greek philosopher's famed 'Discourses' on more than one occasion. Epictetus was a legendary figure in Greek philosophy and many claim he is the greatest of the Stoics; texts that remain in existence from the period suggest that in his native Greece, he was even more popular than Plato. As was previously mentioned, 'Meditations' was not written for public consumption but rather as an aid to personal development. Marcus wanted to change his way of living and thinking and to do this he embarked on a set of philosophical exercises. He would reflect on philosophical ideas and by writing them down and by repeating them he hoped to re-programme his mind and find his own philosophy to live by.One of the key exercises in the book discusses Marcus attempting to look at the world from 'the point of view of the cosmos' in a bid to try and look at life and the universe outside of the common and limited parameters of individual concerns. “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.” Marcus Aurelius died on March 17, 180, in the city of Vindobona which was situated where Vienna is today.
Haiku summary
Live life with reason. / The cosmos doesn't need you. / Be still. Watch. Listen. (johnxlibris)
)
)
Google Books — Loading...
Meditations?
Wikipedia in English (4)
1
