Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library)

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The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius did not hang motivational posters for inspiration. Instead, he kept a journal in which he collected his thoughts about how to live well. MEDITATIONS is that book. The idea of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is as inspiring as the contents. This was at its core a personal self-help book that Marcus used. It wasn't a journal or a diary because it rarely recounted events. It was more of a custom self-help book, a place where Marcus would give advice to himself and articulate his arguments and worldview. The time during which you are alive is very very brief compared to the time during which you did not exist and will not exist. not to live as if you had endless years in front of you. Death overshadows you. While you're alive and able, be good…”

Be grateful for what you have. There is always someone who has less than you do. Be grateful for the things that you have, no matter how small they may seem. An ancient work of spiritual reflection which remains a powerful reminder of how we could live a more dignified life by avoiding deceit, vanity and greed' OK MAGAZINE In Gregory Hays's new translation-the first in thirty-five years-Marcus's thoughts speak with a new immediacy. In fresh and unencumbered English, Hays vividly conveys the spareness and compression of the original Greek text. Never before have Marcus's insights been so directly and powerfully presented. While it can get a bit repetitive sometimes, and can, at times, feel like ideas we’ve heard a million times before, there is something profoundly soothing and inspiring in Marcus Aurelius’ little maxims: they are a refreshing reminder that leading a life of simplicity and compassion can be a much more rewarding life than one based on greed and superficial, fleeting satisfactions. If it feels oddly familiar, it’s probably because people have been quoting Marcus Aurelius for hundreds of years! I don’t normally read self help books. Often they seem full of cliches left over from the Victorian era. And in this book, which may have been modeled on the writings of Alain De Botton, Marcus mixes in a lot of philosophy and this just isn’t to everyone’s taste.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. 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. 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. opinia filosofului, am impresia, cărțile reprezintă doar un prilej de a murmura împotriva autorilor și a gîndurilor exprimate de ei, împotriva morții binefăcătoare. Este preferabil, în consecință, să primești sfîrșitul cu deplină smerenie, cu sufletul împăcat. Cărțile nu dau un exemplu bun. În tragediile grecești, în Antigona, să zicem, nu găsim decît lamentații, împotrivire, lipsă de măsură, o frenezie zadarnică. Not to meddle with other people's affairs, and not to be ready to listen to slander." ---------- I didn't need a teacher here; I recognized on my own at an early age that gossip is a colossal waste of time and energy, both listening to gossip and spreading gossip. I can't imagine a clearer indication of a base, coarse mind than someone inclined to gossip and slandering others.

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. setea de cărţi, ca să nu mori cîrtind, ci cu adevărat senin şi recunoscător din toată inima zeilor” (II: 3). Either way Meditations is a piece of work that endures to this day. Imagine that it still holds up. Meditations was first printed in 1559 CE; Marcus originally wrote this work in Greek – the language of the intelligentsia of the time. It is also believed; these writings were not intended to be published. He wrote these for himself. Yes, just he – and we have been gorking at these writings for centuries – academics and lay people alike – it is respected, it has stood up. concluzie, renunță la cărți, scapă de acest neajuns! În pofida prestigiosului îndemn, nu voi renunța să recitesc meditațiile celui mai onest dintre împărații romani. 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.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. But generalizations will not approach the richness and wisdom nuggets a reader will find in Marcus's actual words. Thus I'll conclude with my personal observations coupled with quotes from Book One, wherein Marcus begins by expressing heartfelt thanks to his family and teachers for the many fine lessons he learned as a youth. Here are four of my favorites: