Meditations: Penguin Classics

by Marcus Aurelius

Genres: Philosophy

Audible Audio

Published September 26, 2019

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

[nur1s]

@Joanna I can't really understand how you would take several months for this book, since the main part only has ~120 pages. The ideas discussed are kind of trivial (like "[...] [h]e is so rich, he has no room to shit" - page 40) and many phrases also repeat several times.
All in all still a solid book for a first try

[Flowers4Algernon]

I will hold my hands up and admit that I really can’t get to grips with philosophy but I thought I would give this a try. He seems to have had a lot of time on his hands. For an emperor. Most of his pondering about death, life, what’s good, what’s right etc went in one eye and out the other. I understood little of what any of it was about and will leave you with this example so make your own minds up - ‘The hill mouse and the house mouse - and the frightened scurrying of the house mouse’. As I said, too much time on his hands…

[Joanna]

I can't say that I finished this entirely, this will be a slow read through many months I'm sure. Obviously wise advice that has stood the test of time and something to draw back on through all of life's many challenges.

[Läsdrian Bokström]

rather be a smart fella than a fart smella

[Tom Pandelaere]

I disagree that pleasure and pain are irrelevant; they have perfectly natural biological reasons and are therefore congruent with 'living in accordance with nature'.