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fulfilled_bluebird's review against another edition
3.0
I was not in the right mood to read this book. I am not sure what I was expecting to find in the book when I started, and I was looking forward to the hype I got from other stoicism books about it. But the reality is that I struggled to get through this book, and I found myself consistently reaching to other activities to avoid reading the book.
That all said, it was an interesting read. The book has lots of short-form thoughts on tackling life in a stoic way. It is impressive to hear all these thoughts coming from such a powerful emperor from almost 2000 years ago. And the translation does a great job of keeping things modern while preserving some of the authentic tone.
I doubt I will revisit this book in the future. I think I absorb stoic ideas better from modern-day authors.
That all said, it was an interesting read. The book has lots of short-form thoughts on tackling life in a stoic way. It is impressive to hear all these thoughts coming from such a powerful emperor from almost 2000 years ago. And the translation does a great job of keeping things modern while preserving some of the authentic tone.
I doubt I will revisit this book in the future. I think I absorb stoic ideas better from modern-day authors.
crabmusket's review against another edition
3.0
"A man cannot any whither retire better than to his own soul" -the fourth book
Aurelius's view of life and existence is attractive: that true virtue and a good life is simply a matter for each of us to decide to achieve. Nature - everything that happens inevitably in the world - just is, and virtue lies in accepting it. The rational mind has ultimate control not over nature, but over itself, and that is all that counts.
"And my nature is, to be rational in all my actions and as a good, and natural member of a city and commonwealth, towards my fellow members ever to be sociably and kindly disposed and affected. My city and country as I am Antoninus, is Rome; as a man, the whole world." -the sixth book
It's a fascinating glimpse into the mind of the most powerful person alive. It really makes me inclined to read more about his historical reign. It seems like the principles he professes here, and the advice and admonitions he gives himself, would make for almost as good an emperor as you could hope for. His political philosophy is not detailed in this book, but I feel it must have been significantly influenced by his personal philosophy.
"[N]o man lives properly, but that very instant of time which is now present. And therefore that no man whensoever he dieth can properly be said to lose any more, than an instant of time." -the twelfth book
His thoughts on death seem to be a microcosm of his broader philosophy. All that is significant is the individual choice of response to nature's inevitable course. It seems like a healthy detachment, to calmly face your end whenever it might come. But this philosophy does leave me cold in many aspects:
"One prayeth that he may compass his desire, to lie with such or such a one, pray thou that thou mayst not lust to lie with her. ... Another, that he may not lose his child. Pray thou that thou mayst not fear to lose him." -the ninth book
I often act as Aurelius recommends, responding to temptation by pitting my rational will against my sinful urges. I find the cultivation of mental fortitude to be rewarding, and I believe it will ultimately make me a better person. But at its extreme, as in the second line quoted above, it seems to deny the human emotional experiences that are both inevitable (according to nature, as Aurelius would describe it), and worthwhile. While 'pray thou that thou mayst not fear to lose [your child]' is not a downright severance of any parental attachment to the child, it does deny that there could be any good in fearing the child's loss, or morning it if it does occur. It seems to me that love implies a more costly connection, one that cannot be held as lightly as Marcus Aurelius intends.
While many of Aurelius's principles are attractive, and I fully intend to take some of his advice without modification, I did not find my life significantly changed by his ideas. I am now more interested to look at the works of other Stoics, and keen to mine some of his beautiful phrases for aesthetic reasons (see the final quote below). I occasionally laughed out loud at the audacity, or sometimes the unexpected ordinariness of some of his self-advice (especially the recurring character of the man with unpleasant arm-holes). On the balance I am quite glad to have read it.
"The cause of the universe is as it were a strong torrent, it carrieth all away." -the ninth book
3 stars: enjoyable, but not life-changing. I read (and quoted from) the Project Gutenberg e-book version which is based on the Casaubon translation.
Aurelius's view of life and existence is attractive: that true virtue and a good life is simply a matter for each of us to decide to achieve. Nature - everything that happens inevitably in the world - just is, and virtue lies in accepting it. The rational mind has ultimate control not over nature, but over itself, and that is all that counts.
"And my nature is, to be rational in all my actions and as a good, and natural member of a city and commonwealth, towards my fellow members ever to be sociably and kindly disposed and affected. My city and country as I am Antoninus, is Rome; as a man, the whole world." -the sixth book
It's a fascinating glimpse into the mind of the most powerful person alive. It really makes me inclined to read more about his historical reign. It seems like the principles he professes here, and the advice and admonitions he gives himself, would make for almost as good an emperor as you could hope for. His political philosophy is not detailed in this book, but I feel it must have been significantly influenced by his personal philosophy.
"[N]o man lives properly, but that very instant of time which is now present. And therefore that no man whensoever he dieth can properly be said to lose any more, than an instant of time." -the twelfth book
His thoughts on death seem to be a microcosm of his broader philosophy. All that is significant is the individual choice of response to nature's inevitable course. It seems like a healthy detachment, to calmly face your end whenever it might come. But this philosophy does leave me cold in many aspects:
"One prayeth that he may compass his desire, to lie with such or such a one, pray thou that thou mayst not lust to lie with her. ... Another, that he may not lose his child. Pray thou that thou mayst not fear to lose him." -the ninth book
I often act as Aurelius recommends, responding to temptation by pitting my rational will against my sinful urges. I find the cultivation of mental fortitude to be rewarding, and I believe it will ultimately make me a better person. But at its extreme, as in the second line quoted above, it seems to deny the human emotional experiences that are both inevitable (according to nature, as Aurelius would describe it), and worthwhile. While 'pray thou that thou mayst not fear to lose [your child]' is not a downright severance of any parental attachment to the child, it does deny that there could be any good in fearing the child's loss, or morning it if it does occur. It seems to me that love implies a more costly connection, one that cannot be held as lightly as Marcus Aurelius intends.
While many of Aurelius's principles are attractive, and I fully intend to take some of his advice without modification, I did not find my life significantly changed by his ideas. I am now more interested to look at the works of other Stoics, and keen to mine some of his beautiful phrases for aesthetic reasons (see the final quote below). I occasionally laughed out loud at the audacity, or sometimes the unexpected ordinariness of some of his self-advice (especially the recurring character of the man with unpleasant arm-holes). On the balance I am quite glad to have read it.
"The cause of the universe is as it were a strong torrent, it carrieth all away." -the ninth book
3 stars: enjoyable, but not life-changing. I read (and quoted from) the Project Gutenberg e-book version which is based on the Casaubon translation.
bryantimms's review against another edition
3.0
This would have probably have been more profound to me much earlier in life.
ava_lanche's review against another edition
2.5
this should have been less than half as long. lots of repetition, with a few core concepts being conveyed in different words many times across different sections/chapters. Meditations was never meant for publication, so it's loosely constructed. It was written for personal use, so it doesn't flesh out anything.
Meditations consists of more half-baked quotes than genuine reflection, though there are some interesting ideas and themes here. i suppose i struggle to take any "philosopher" seriously who praises how the gods have made a perfect, rational natural world with perfect benefits for its inhabitants, while he simultaneously enslaves people and look down on women. i've yet to encounter an ancient male thinker who openly and truly humbly engage with ideas of power, form, relations and society in a rational and innovative way.
the book is a fascinating read in terms of contextualising Roman society and belief systems. i particularly enjoyed the sections that deals with divinity and the gods. i'd like to try another translation in the future – George Long's is, unsurprisingly, old-fashioned, and probably quite wrong in some places (like how he refers to atoms, which Romans in the first century AD had no understanding of).
Meditations consists of more half-baked quotes than genuine reflection, though there are some interesting ideas and themes here. i suppose i struggle to take any "philosopher" seriously who praises how the gods have made a perfect, rational natural world with perfect benefits for its inhabitants, while he simultaneously enslaves people and look down on women. i've yet to encounter an ancient male thinker who openly and truly humbly engage with ideas of power, form, relations and society in a rational and innovative way.
the book is a fascinating read in terms of contextualising Roman society and belief systems. i particularly enjoyed the sections that deals with divinity and the gods. i'd like to try another translation in the future – George Long's is, unsurprisingly, old-fashioned, and probably quite wrong in some places (like how he refers to atoms, which Romans in the first century AD had no understanding of).
ekaari's review against another edition
5.0
A book best designed to be read a page or even a paragraph at a time, in the morning, to be contemplated throughout the day
An insightful journal that makes it clear how little humanity has changed, we still fear the same things
An insightful journal that makes it clear how little humanity has changed, we still fear the same things