The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius: Selections Annotated & Explained

by Marcus Aurelius, Russell McNeil (Annotator), George Long (Translator)

The timeless wisdom of an ancient Stoic can become a companion for your own spiritual journey.

Stoicism is often portrayed as a cheerless, stiff-upper-lip philosophy of suffering and doom. Yet as experienced through the thoughtful and penetrating writings of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 CE), the Stoic approach to life is surprisingly rich, nuanced, clear-eyed and friendly.

With facing-page commentary that explains the texts for you, Russell McNeil, PhD, guides you through key passages from Aurelius's Meditations, comprised of the emperor's collected personal journal entries, to uncover the startlingly modern relevance his words have today. From devotion to family and duty to country, to a near-prophetic view of the natural world that aligns with modern physics, Aurelius's words speak as potently today as they did two millennia ago.

Now you can discover the tenderness, intelligence and honesty of Aurelius's writings with no previous background in philosophy or the classics. This SkyLight Illuminations edition offers insightful and engaging commentary that explains the historical background of Stoicism, as well as the ways this ancient philosophical system can offer psychological and spiritual insight into your contemporary life. You will be encouraged to explore and challenge Aurelius's ideas of what makes a fulfilling life--and in so doing you may discover new ways of perceiving happiness.

Genres: Philosophy, Audiobook, Classics, Nonfiction, Psychology, History

273 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2007

About the author

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (often referred to as "the wise") was Emperor of the Roman Empire from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the more important Stoic philosophers. His two decades as emperor were marked by near continual warfare. He was faced with a series of invasions from German tribes, and by conflicts with the Parthian Empire in the east. His reign also had to deal with an internal revolt in the east, led by Avidius Cassius.

Marcus Aurelius' work Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty and has been praised for its "exquisite accent and its infinite tenderness."

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will read this book again. While I didn't really refer to the annotations that much, I will read The Meditations again - many nuggets of wisdom.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
10 out of 10


This is a Magnum opus to read anytime, but it is especially suitable, nay, perfect for a world in lockdown, where people fear the economic, financial Doomsday which will have replaced the Covid 19, once the virus will die away – which is itself problematic, given that experts warn about comebacks and indeed, now that tyrannical china seems to have contained it (although the real numbers would never be known) visitors are now importing it back from other places and The Economist and others warn that if Africa is not helped, there will be an apocalypse there and the virus will have landed back to other shores from there, at a later date

Alhamdulillah, now you have the solutions for this crisis and almost everything else in the magnificent Meditations, and you could access freely online, since the copyright has expired for this and other divine works by Epictetus, Enchiridion - http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/06/e... - and The Manual - http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/03/n... - Stoicism, The Philosophy of Calmness by George Muntau - http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/10/s... or A Guide to The Good Life http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/08/a...
On some levels, it feels like the sublime emperor Marcus Aurelius has anticipated the famous Categorical Imperative, in that he teaches us to act and think always as if we could be asked what is inside us and we should always be able to expose our thoughts, pure and kind as they always must be…not that stoicism suggest that we should worry about what the others say or do, on the contrary, the secret of Eudaimonia – a permanent bliss in an attempt to allegory – is to find refuge, Joy inside ourselves, where there is the only space that offers invincibility…if we can do nothing about the insults, wrongdoing of the rest of the world, we are in perfect control of what we think and how we decide to act…

Which is exactly what we need during this pandemic, stoic ideas that can make us see that worrying does not help – well, it is paramount to protect ourselves and our families, the community at large – and constant moaning and lamentation would not change a thing in the progress, better said regress (Insha’Allah) of the virus, but it would result in a negativity, a depression that is contagious and furthermore, scientific studies show that our immune system is affected by tension, negative thoughts which could easily become ‘self-fulfilling prophecies’ in that, if we keep in a state of terror and somehow we c=get contaminated, we would n=be much less able to cope with it, given that we have weakened our body.
Evidently, the attitude of the Most Stupid and Dangerous Man on earth, who has denied the virus, is recorded as he says there will be zero cases soon, this is a hoax created by his political rivals and ‘it will soon miraculously go away’, is not stoic or optimistic, it is just plain calamitous and irresponsible- the only slightly comforting thought in all the charade of that Absolute Joker is that the members of his cult, those who identify with him and who are indeed so well represented by this Projection of their own vileness, abjection will be among the worst affected, because they worship this Priest of Doom and they listen to his idiotic affirmations…the hoax and all the paraphernalia of a Con Man that has fooled the multitudes to this potion of absurd power.

There could be no more striking contrast as the one between pompous, arrogant, narcissistic Very Stable Genius leading the ‘most advanced democracy’ and the roman Emperor, who was the absolute monarch of the whole known world, but lived a modest life, respecting people, showing incredible Understanding and Tolerance, promoting and showing Restraint, Gratitude for his parents, wife and all he knows and the rest of the world, practicing Wisdom and rejecting pleasure – this is one of the few points where he is exaggerating, for though we should not adopt a lifestyle of exclusive indulgence, positive psychology promotes formulas like the one authored by Martin Seligman, PERMA, in which P is for Positive Emotions.
The philosophy shared by the majestic Marcus Aurelius could not be more adequate for our and any other age, for there is also a misunderstanding that appears to be almost universally adopted, that which pertains that Stoicism means something like self-abuse, a belief for the masochistic perverts, who like to be tortured and therefore this is more like a deviation and not a lifestyle, not for this century anyway…it is a complete nonsense, and though there are some points where we need to adapt and accept pleasure, which the emperor disdained to some extent, and see that Meditation, Reason, acceptance of the limitations of the others are fundamental…indeed, the Stoics explain that we will be abused, insulted by various earthlings, but we need to look at their limitations – some are mentally disturbed and this is one way to look and trump and sometimes say…poor man – the circumstances which are often overwhelming and thus send many in a freefall…we have so many acts that we feel repentant for

Harmony with nature, which is one recurring mantra in the Meditations could not be more relevant in an époque when humanity has done so much to compromise its own future, or that of the coming generations, where we can only hope that leaders like Greta Thunberg will get the upper hand and not the offspring of dynasties like the one that occupies the White House now, silly daughter, ghastly son-in-law and all.
One area where I have a disagreement with the illustrious, majestic Stoic is the acceptance of Divinity, the will of the Gods as supreme, for this reader is an atheist, though the idea that we need to accept much, or perhaps all that happens seems reasonable enough and the brilliant ‘there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so’ which Shakespeare has written, but Marcus Aurelius had promoted centuries before looks like "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." Known as the Serenity Prayer, which in The Meditations would be the idea that it is not what happens around us, but how we treat those events in our own mind…
Gentleness, kindness are among the virtues that are highlighted in this marvelous book, transformational, life changing, inspirational, which has so much foresight in that it anticipates discoveries that confirm what the emperor and other stoics have written in their masterpieces, for we have this training this constant attitude of peace, serenity, we have the chance to become truly serene – just like in Seinfeld, with George’s father and his ‘Serenity Now! – whereas if we keep the negative, angry, lamenting attitude, studies have shown that we create ‘Paths in Hell’ and then we are conditioned, we fall into angry mood usually, when challenged…

[Science and Fiction · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. For most readers who already know Meditations this would probably be considered as interesting supplemental material, but not something to recommend as an only version. That is because it doesn’t present the text in the order in which Aurelius wrote it, but rather divides verses out into various topics such as death, depression, flattery and pride, and even a section called “A Ten-Step Program in Anger Management.” For the right reader who doesn’t have the patience to read the text in its original ordering, seemingly to jump around randomly depending on what is on Aurelius’ mind, this could be the perfect entry point to understanding classical thought and the stoic philosophy. The annotations by McNeil also offer a way to see how this all connects with our modern world, to ponder how Aurelius’ beliefs and stoicism in general relate to topics like terrorism or climate change.

I can see the value of this kind of presentation for the right person, but after one go-through it’s not something I expect to return to. It’s too bad because of the five versions I’ve compared McNeil offers the best introduction, giving an excellent biographical and geo-political context. I also appreciate that McNeil’s translation rightly translates “Logos” as “the ruling intelligence of the universe” or “the ruling principles of nature” or even “following the methods and principles of physics;” not “God” (with a capital G) as we see in some translations.

McNeil used the 1862 translation by George Long, simply changing out some of the antiquated language like “thee” and “thou” and making the appropriate changes whenever “God” is used. For that reason, the actual text isn’t as inspired as some of the best modern versions like we have from Gregory Hays or David and Scot Hicks.

[Chrissy Consejo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first step into the incredible journey and study of stoicism and The Emperor was a great start. Notebook and fountain pen in-toe I am ready for the examined life. As for this book I highly recommend!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been warned before starting this book that Meditations is repetitive and scattered—a combination that made me leery of going anywhere near it. So this particular edition of Meditations was a good one for a newbie like me to start with. As the subtitle "Selections Annotated & Explained" warns you, this is an abridged edition (although Russell McNeil has annotated those selections so thoroughly that this edition is thicker than my unabridged edition). He has also ordered his selections by theme ("Ignoring What Others Think," "Aging and Death," "The Supremacy of Reason") and then ordered these themes into chapters ("The Practice of Stoicism," ""Stoicism and the Environment," "Society and Government in Stoicism"). McNeil offers a guided path through Meditations that made them clear and easier to understand.

Although I enjoyed reading this, I wish it had been put together a little differently. I think an index of the selections would be useful. I found McNeil's annotations to be helpful, but the introduction was a mite confusing. I think it might work to read the introduction after reading the rest of the book, when all the concepts McNeil refers to have been explained. The translation itself is by George Long and dates from the nineteenth century. I understand Long's translation is considered to be excellent, but although McNeil modernized it in places, it felt dated to me. McNeil compares Stoicism to Christianity several times in his annotations. While I can see how many people would find this interesting and/or helpful, I got tired of it. But through all of this, I discovered that I liked reading Marcus Aurelius' observations, and that many of them were relevant to modern life and were worth pondering and rereading.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this book two stars because of its editor Russell McNeil. First of all, the PhD next to his name is a bit irresponsible, since he earned it in physics NOT in a classics-related field. This means that he is not an expert in this particular area. He may have studied Stoicism more than most people and even know enough to teach it and write a book about it, but he should not have placed PhD next to his name on this book. Secondly, McNeil over-comments on the Meditations. He frequently reiterates what Marcus Aurelius has just said. That is not to say that he does not give helpful elucidation, but but was not necessary to explain every single selection. He clearly has a younger audience in mind. Finally, McNeil tries entirely too much to interpret Aurelius within a modern context, conjecturing on what a Stoic would think about terrorism and global warming, telling us again and again that Stoicism is not like Christianity here, but like it here, and like Buddhism there. I would prefer to draw these conclusions on my own.

McNeil clearly loves Stoicism and wants his readers to see how it can benefit his their lives, but this is why I do not like this book. I want to read someone who explains it, not advocates for it. Because he is so passionate for this philosophy, McNeil waxes eloquent on how wonderful a man Marcus Aurelius was (giving some gentle mention to his over-indulgence of Commodus and his intolerance of Christians), but I feel fairly certain that he sugar-coats the man's vices and weaknesses.

The best thing about this book is the arrangment of the Meditations thematically. Apparently, Marcus Aurelius wrote his musings in a journal format and the work does not follow an orderly train of thought.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intelligent modern adaptation of an ancient philosophy. The annotations do well to emphasize the common denominators stoicism shares with other philosophies, and religious points of view as well. The only shortcoming I would comment on in the text were some points in which this emphasis would shift to the mutual exclusivity of the stoic view to some religious beliefs, which read to me as slightly closed minded. I think the true value of stoicism as it is applied to the life of the modern man is its adaptability to augment a person's current religious or political views to reach new levels of understanding, not an inflexibility requiring they replace these views to reach happiness.

[Sarah Adison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given Meditations 4 stars, but McNeil's annotations were irritating. He has no background in classics, thus he should not be "explaining" (and I use that term very loosely) anything remotely related to classics. There was this one section, which he entitled "Stoicism and the Environment", where he went on about how we should base our technology off of nature's perfect technology: the tree. I'm pretty sure that was not Aurelius' intention when writing his original Meditations.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read several translations of the Meditations. I loved the topical arrangement. The same content, but this fresh arrangement made it new again.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a reread with some good quotes for ideal behavior.