Meditations

It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.This and the headline, the words of Marcus Aurelius. The wisdom of the ages through the ages. By a miracle they remain with us. The Logos intended it it to be thus. A book worthy of your time and your reflection. I refer to it often, a constant companion even when the cover is closed.

I love buying used books. This one, however, is marked up on most of the page on most of the pages. Just surprised that this was a 'good' copy. The pic is actually a typical page! The title says it is an old copy, so no surprise there. Finally, I realized that it is not the book itself, but only my judgement of the book that causes distress....

This translation of Meditations by Maxwell Staniforth (this is not the Gregory Hays translation that a lot of people are reviewing) is the best I've read. It reads clearly and simply, with no useless ornamentation to the text. Indeed, what I like about the Great Ideas series that this is a part of is its lack of extras--forewords and introductions and the like which, though often helpful, are usually written by people other than the author and sometimes set the reader up to completely misinterpret what they are about to read. This copy of Marcus Aurelius is only Marcus Aurelius, with perhaps a dozen or so explanatory footnotes sprinkled throughout.The book itself is well-known, content-wise. The titular meditations are bite-sized thoughts written down by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius during his later years, as he reflected on his past while campaigning in the north. He was one of the greatest and most famous stoics who ever lived, and this book encapsulates his personal philosophy and manner of thought. His ideas are at once brilliant, challenging, and soothing, making this book good down-time reading and an excellent gift for a friend. I've read it several times, finding something new and moving every time.This is a very good edition of Meditations to have. The text is completely intact--not a selection--and the translation is clear and precise, but never boring. Maxwell Staniforth has done us all a great service with this translation of the last good emperor's journals.Highly recommended.

I took an earlier edition of this out of the library. I was so happy about how that edition included explanatory notes to put his writing in context and clarify some ways he may have expressed himself in a manner that can easily be misunderstood by today's readers. So, when I saw Penguin reprinted the earlier translation, I eagerly plunked down my money. I am very disappointed this edition does not include those notes, but do think it is a good translation.

Ever wondered what emperors thought of and how they lived their life? Meditations gives you great insight into the age of Marcus Aurelius and the standards he tried to live up to.This is one of the better old books I have read and it is really accessible. If you have ever read a Plato book, you might know what I mean. You want to learn about historical people, but not at all cost.You will definitly have your money's worth with this one as Meditations describes the thoughts, standards and intentions Marcus Aurelius had in great detail. The writings really made me connect with the book as if I wanted to live up to these standards as well. It's hard to describe, but in essence this book should appeal to many readers.Meditations is a classic.