Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library)

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The important thing to understand is that this book was never intended to be read by anyone other than Marcus Aurelius. Existence flows past us like a river: the ‘what’ is in constant flux, the ‘why’ has a thousand variations. To that end, Aurelius crafted his worldview based on philosophies which were already then hundreds of years old.

And to have seen someone who clearly viewed his expertise and ability as a teacher as the humblest of virtues. I went through both versions and saw that I either highlighted or underlined 104 meditations or verses in the book as a whole. It’s all that protects your mind from false perceptions—false to your nature, and that of all rational beings.

Ancient philosophical ideas are not difficult or complicated in themselves, they are just written in (what can appear to the layman as) convoluted language. I will always cherish the Hays’s translation because it was the first one I read and there are some passages that resonate with me strongly in his version.

This is another reminder that we are mortal, but also to live our lives and not worry about our legacy. That when I became interested in philosophy I didn't fall into the hands of charlatans, and didn't get bogged down in writing treatises, or become absorbed by logic-chopping, or preoccupied with physics. Using Marcus as an example of greater Stoic philosophy, he found the Stoic ethical philosophy to contain an element of " sour grapes. The way he kept public actions within reasonable bounds-games, building projects, distributions of money and so on-because he looked to what needed doing and not the credit to be gained from doing it. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH).Other people's certainty that what he said was what he thought, and what he did was done without malice. Around 1150, John Tzetzes, a grammarian of Constantinople, quotes passages from Books IV and V attributing them to Marcus. through the mid-20th century, covering art, politics, literature, philosophy, science, history, and more. It was through him that I encountered Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion and Brutus, and conceived of a society of equal laws, governed by equality of status and of speech, and of rulers who respect the liberty of their subjects above all else.

Marcus's insights and advice--on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others--have made the Meditations required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style. I think the repetitions give us clues to the things that Marcus found especially difficult or troublesome.I actually read two different translations of it, just to see if there were any noticeable differences.