Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library)

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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. Tony Campolo - speaking on Christ - reminded us that Christ never said, "Love the sinner, hate the sin." He said, "Love the sinner, hate your own sin." And Plutarch, quoting Plato reminds us to ask, "Am I not like that, too?" Be true to yourself. Don't try to be someone you're not. Be true to yourself and live your life the way you want to live it.

The man in charge of the great empire does not attach weight to the posthumous fame or slander that may haunt famous people both during their lifetime and after. Praise and calumny are equally considered vanities.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. Be kind to others. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Be kind and compassionate, even to those who are different from you. The book moves into discussions over the temporary nature of things, of relationships and friendships and feelings. Everything changes given enough time, even memories and their ramifications. Aurelius soul searches. He writes these words during times of peace and war, during times of duty and heart ache, though his tone rarely changes. He remains detached and accepting of destiny and where it may take him. From this he ponders how to give life meaning and purpose.

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. Life happens" is a very stoic modern phrase, and I think it sums it up fairly well. Of course there's more to Stoicism, but a constant theme throughout Meditations is the need to not push against the flow of life; to accept what "Nature" has done. Your car breaks down? Well, getting upset about it is causing you unnecessary suffering and grief. Accept what life has thrown at you and move on with it. Alexander Pope said, "whatever is, is right." All these and many other ideas are discussed in the book in a much more subtle way. I have just tried to translate them into the modern language. Now the edition of Meditations I have in my possession, and totally recommend, is the Penguin Classics edition, translated with notes by Martin Hammond. The notes take up half of this publication and explain each of Marcus’ meditations. Yes, each one. What was happening, where he was and what he may have been thinking. Here is an example:There is a strange dichotomy to Meditations. There is great wisdom to be had while also containing rambling nonsense. The thing you have to understand is that this book is a series of entries some guy made of his, sometimes completely random, thoughts. Conceitedly, that's basically what philosophy is. Forced perspective in written form. And, as with the rest of the human race, not every thought is a winner.

So to end with my favorite paragraph, from book 10 paragraph 5. One for physicists as well as philosophers to puzzle over: No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It's the same old thing, from one end of the world to the other. It fills the history books, ancient and modern, and the cities, and the houses too. Nothing new at all." Every once in a while, I'd disagree with him. I think the advice we give ourselves sometimes is just not practical. Like Paul says, "Why do I do the things I don't want to do, and don't do the things I do want to do?" It's easy to say, "nothing can hurt you: it's just perception." Or, "There are no victims - only those who chose to be victims." I think that only works internally. I'm only a victim if I allow myself to be a victim. And maybe - maybe it's true for others as well. And maybe it's always true. But I can think of instances where - if I said that to someone - I'd be a victim because of the beating the community would give me for saying it. (Liz said, "Are you going to say that to a rape victim? That you're not a victim? That you're only a victim if you allow yourself to be?") And I find myself agreeing with her. The same thing with children who are victims. People who wrong you only do so from ignorance, and if you can correct them without being a jerk about it, you should do so.All that exists will soon change. Either it will be turned into vapour, if all matter is a unity, or it will be scattered in atoms. Aș menționa că Marcus Aurelius a scris mereu și mereu pentru un singur destinatar: pentru sine, așa cum arată însuși titlul meditațiilor sale: Ta eis heauton, Către mine însumi. Nu se gîndea la un cititor străin, la viitor și postumitate, caietul lui de însemnări îl însoțea pretutindeni, în tabere îndeosebi, prin „țara quazilor, aproape de rîul Granua” (adică în Panonia de azi), cum precizează într-un fragment (II: incipit, p.83), prin ținuturile triburilor germane, în Galia ori în Asia Mică. Împăratul controla riguros legiunile, taberele, castrele de pe granița imperiului, doar noaptea avea timp să noteze, într-un cort de soldat, la lumina precară a unui lucubrum, în puținul timp liber.