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Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library)

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Most people have heard that Aurelius counsels to expect the worst and you will never be disappointed. While that is part of what he has to say, it is not the most interesting of what he has to say. At his most thoughtful, Aurelius calls on us to ask the best of ourselves and never mind the behavior of others. His MEDITATIONS is a work of motivational advice to inspire us in the ways of stoicism. It is a manual for being a complete, mature adult. It is a guide for living a dignified, thoughtful life. După cum ne formăm reprezentări despre felurile de mîncare, gîndind că acesta este cadavrul unui peşte, acesta – al unei păsări sau al unui porc, şi, de asemenea, că vinul de Falern este sucul stors din struguri şi că toga pretextă e lînă de oaie impregnată cu sînge de scoică…, tot aşa trebuie să procedăm toată viaţa şi, cînd ne reprezentăm lucrurile ca prea demne de încredere, trebuie să le dezgolim, să le surprindem mica lor valoare şi să înlăturăm pretinsa credibilitate datorită căreia erau considerate de valoare. Periculoasă amăgire este trufia şi, cînd socoteşti mai degrabă că te ocupi de lucruri importante, atunci mai ales eşti victima iluziei” (VI: 13). Marcus says that he thinks praying for three hours a day is sufficient, but it was unclear to me quite what he would be praying to, his universe otherwise seems fairly deterministic and the gods a part of that as much as the fig trees, horses and people, perhaps his prayer was more his spiritual practise to encourage the serenity, kindness, and indifference to death that he speaks of rather than requests to the gods. Scria noaptea, în puținul timp rămas liber, pe cîmpul de luptă, în cortul de ostaș, luminat precar, în lungile și obositoarele campanii purtate la granițele imperiului, prin „țara cvazilor, pe malul rîului Granua” (adică în Panonia de azi), cum precizează într-un rînd (I: 17), prin ținuturile triburilor germane, în Galia ori în Asia Mică. Nu a avut deloc vanitate de autor. Vreme de mai bine de un mileniu, lucrarea lui a fost foarte puțin cunoscută. O menționează doar Arethas din Caesarea în secolul X.

Whether or not things injure you lies in your opinion about them, and you can control that opinion. When you consider the tone of the thoughts collected in “Meditations”, it can be surprising to remember that they were written down by the most powerful man of the Western world. Would powerful men today write so earnestly about dignity, thoughtfulness, modesty and honesty? Would they encourage people to truly look at themselves and give up caring about the things that are outside of our control? I don’t know. But Marcus was very aware of his humanity, and therefore, that even if he was the Emperor, he was fundamentally not all that different from other people. So to end with my favorite paragraph, from book 10 paragraph 5. One for physicists as well as philosophers to puzzle over: Meditations deal extensively with the concept of death. Marcus Aurelius explains why one must not be afraid of inevitable demise.it makes you betray a trust, or lose your sense of shame, or make you show hatred, suspicion, ill will, or hypocrisy, or a desire for things best done behind closed doors. not to live as if you had endless years in front of you. Death overshadows you. While you're alive and able, be good…” Observațiile împăratului, scrise în limba greacă (și nu în latină), între anii 170 și 180, au fost tipărite abia în 1558, după un manuscris azi pierdut. Speak both in the senate and to every man, whoever he may be, appropriately, not with any affectation: use plain discourse."

altă parte, împăratul scrie: „Înlătură setea de cărți, ca să nu mori cîrtind, ci dimpotrivă, cu adevărat mulţumit, senin şi recunoscător din toată inima zeilor!” (II: 3, p.85). Adaugă imediat: „Lasă deoparte cărţile! Nu te mai chinui! Nu îţi este dat...”. Nimic mai enigmatic decît aceste enunțuri lapidare. Moartea se cuvine întîmpinată în liniște. Instead, the author believes in public duty and the necessity of doing the right things and being decent under any circumstances. One should do what he or she thinks right to do without expecting gratitude in response. Kindness to others and worthy deeds give a sense of fulfillment, which means that they are more than enough to make us happy. He also warns against being judgmental toward others. How can we judge others if we are not perfect ourselves?

CUSTOM BOX

It's, of course, completely ridiculous to rate a nearly 2000 year old journal by a Roman emperor who never intended it to be read. As a book experience, the repetition of Aurelius's thoughts can be frustrating (the excellent introduction in this volume provides context for it, and for the concept of stoicism), but I found his challenges, his every-day worries remarkably human. When they're good, they're incredible:

It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own. Never before have I given a five star rating to a book of which I had only read 9%. However, this book is special in many ways, and if the beginning is any indication of the author's thoughts and reflections, it merits this rating. I eagerly await my future readings of this splendid work. The key ideas get repetitive throughout the book. Some would probably prefer to read it with breaks. You can start reading it from any chapter. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading it almost in a single sitting. The writing style is accessible. The book makes us reflect on ourselves and the world around us. It seems very relevant today when most of us are connected with so many different people via social media. Becoming dependent on the number of likes on our posts is relatively easy, is it not? However, we had better avoid this and should never measure our success only by such external factors.Marcus Aurelius a fost un gînditor stoic dublat de un cinic. Prefera franchețea cea mai brutală. Într-o notă, afirmă netulburat: „Iubirea se reduce la frecarea a două epiderme, la un spasm, la o secreție vîscoasă” (VI: 13, p.177). Fun Fact 1: funny thing is, they were all adopted by their predecessor. The next Emperor after Marcus was Commodus, he was a son of Marcus and was a complete Muppet, nasty too – hence the start of a period of volatility after his death. An argument against hereditary ascension to a throne to be sure. This is not the only instance of hereditary ascension being a complete disaster in the Roman Empire. He shares his opinions on the worst types of modern professional. He does not approve of lobbyists and is rightly worried about their influence on the legislative process. We should heed his words: In the UK there is a tradition for politicians, or at least for the posher type of politician, to study “PPE” or “Politics, Philosophy and Economics” at either Oxford or Cambridge University.

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