Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library Classics)

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The way he handled the material comforts that fortune had supplied him in such abundance-without arrogance and without apology. This is arguably a more literal and authoritative translation, with useful notes, more suited perhaps to readers who wish to make a closer study of the text. He always strived to become better, acutely aware of the responsibilities that lay on him and of the people's expectations, trying to meet them all. The gods did all they could-through their gifts, their help, their inspiration-to ensure that I could live as nature demands. While Meditations does have more popular one-liners, Letters from a Stoic maintains a degree of originality and has more relatable applications and examples of applying Stoicism towards everyday human experiences that’s just missing from Mediations.

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius , translated and introduced by Gregory Hays, by that standard, is very worthwhile, indeed. Stoicism might not be for everyone, it assumes more free will then we might have, and it places responsibility on the individual to be comfortable with their own unhappiness, but there is enough in these writings by the emperor to connect to many human generations. Does the Stoics' emphasis on accepting all that happens to us as natural prevent them from trying to change the world in positive ways? Yes it’s quite a superficial and contemporary translation, but this allows it to be read by a new audience. The meditations are short snippets of advice and insights into the nature of reality and how humans can best navigate their way through life.Constantly run down the list of those who felt intense anger at something: the most famous, the most unfortunate, the most hated, the most whatever. I had not read a book in quite a while, and a very good friend reignited my desire to read because I saw how passionate they were about books.

Meditations: With Selected Correspondence(2011) is by Robin Hard, with an introduction and commentary by Christopher Gill, professor emeritus of ancient thought at the University of Exeter, and is published by Oxford University Press.For anyone who struggles to reconcile the demands of leadership with a concern for personal integrity and spiritual well-being, the Meditations remains as relevant now as it was two thousand years ago. Delivered in digestible bits, read one a day to set your mind right, or binge them all and let simmer over time. And the last theme I noticed (not sure if it's part of Stoicism per se) was Marcus Aurelius's constant acknowledgement of the transient nature of things — even life itself. And to have seen someone who clearly viewed his expertise and ability as a teacher as the humblest of virtues. With an Introduction that outlines Marcus's life and career, the essentials of Stoic doctrine, the style and construction of the Meditations, and the work's ongoing influence, this edition makes it possible to fully rediscover the thoughts of one of the most enlightened and intelligent leaders of any era.

Considering how they were written over a far longer timespan, said recurrence absolutely makes sense. It's all that protects your mind from false perceptions-false to your nature, and that of all rational beings.And thus can be life changing - if the moral guide Marcus lays out, based on the ancient virtues of Stoic philosophy, are applied in practice in ones life. Whether these, and other entries sound life-changing or like entries in a teenager's diary is up to the individual reader, as it should be.

Other people's certainty that what he said was what he thought, and what he did was done without malice. They saw him for what he was: a man tested by life, accomplished, unswayed by flattery, qualified to govern both himself and them. Not expecting his friends to keep him entertained at dinner or to travel with him (unless they wanted to).It is just a different reading experience, one that I (a new, naïve reader) was neither expecting nor wanting. With the way the introduction was written, who knows what was lost to history and what the translator had the liberty of changing. In much of this work I found that Aurelius's version of Stoicism to have much common ground with the tenants espoused in the New Testament. This type of view feels much more genuine from philosophers or personnages who, by their circumstances, endure hardships by living their beliefs or philosophy. With bite-size insights and advice on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others, Meditations has become required reading not only for statesmen and philosophers alike, but also for generations of readers who responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style.