Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library Classics)

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Thus, I give this a 5 for the historical significance and relevant advice. But I give it a 3 due to aforementioned issues with clarity. I found many of his ideas more common sense than something divine. But his analogies and clarity set him apart. A difficult aspect of the book is that it's made up of scraps of Aurelius's personal accounts - hence the translations also reflect an incompleteness. But that doesn't take away the value of the book. On the Shortness of Life: Life Is Long if You Know How to Use It by Seneca (Author), C. D. N. Costa (Translator)

Gregory Hays Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Review Gregory Hays Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Review

When you need encouragement, think of the qualities the people around you have: this one’s energy, that one’s modesty, another’s generosity, and so on . Nothing is as encouraging as when virtues are visibly embodied in the people around us, when we’re practically showered with them. It’s good to keep this in mind. We learn more about our bodies, souls, and minds and how to deal with emotions like anger, anxiety, grief, and so on. When people injure you, ask yourself what good or harm they thought would come of it. If you understand that, you’ll feel sympathy rather than outrage or anger. Your sense of good and evil may be the same as theirs, or near it, in which case you have to excuse them. Or your sense of good and evil may differ from theirs. In which case they’re misguided and deserve your compassion. Is that so hard? Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (often referred to as "the wise") was Emperor of the Roman Empire from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the more important Stoic philosophers. His two decades as emperor were marked by near continual warfare. He was faced with a series of invasions from German tribes, and by conflicts with the Parthian Empire in the east. His reign also had to deal with an internal revolt in the east, led by Avidius Cassius.The composition of the Meditations is normally dated to the 170s—Marcus's last decade. That this was a dark and stressful period for him can hardly be doubted. It's fascinating how Marcus's notes to himself are still so applicable today given that they were written nearly 2000 years ago. He clearly spent a lot of time thinking about philosophy and in particular how it can be used to live a good life Meditations touches on much of the human condition. And I can respect that Marcus is sometimes trying to talk himself off a ledge. To remind himself to be the leader that he wants to be.

Meditations : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Meditations : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet

Don't waste the rest of the time here worrying about other people unless it affects the common good. It will keep you from doing anything useful." Marcus Aurelius used philosophy as we used religion — as a way of constructing a worldview and of ethics and a proper way of living. Of all the different philosophies, Marcus Aurelius most heavily ascribed to Stoicism. "Stoicism has even been described, not altogether unfairly, as the real religion of upper-class Romans," Hays writes in the Introduction. Stoicism not only is concerned with how to live one's life, but also how to view the world. "Roman stoicism, by contract, was a practical discipline—not an abstract system of thought, but an attitude of life." Practice really hearing what people say. Do your best to get inside their minds Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

This account of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius is an insightful book on the ideas of righteous living and facing adversities. He talks about various aspects of how one can improve their lives by straightforward and consistent action. He also delves into human behaviour and how the mind plays a governing role.

Meditations: A New Translation: Aurelius, Marcus, Hays

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. Accept what you cannot control. There are many things in life that we cannot control. Don't waste your time and energy trying to control things that are out of your control. Instead, focus on the things that you can control. I can see myself revisiting this consistently to continue to gain more and more knowledge and information about the stoic way of life for many years to come. An must read for anyone looking to improve and live their best life.Lee wiped his steel-rimmed spectacles on a dish towel. He opened the book and leafed through. And he smiled to himself, consciously searching for reassurance. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (a.d. 121–180) succeeded his adoptive father as emperor of Rome in a.d. 161—and Meditations remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. With a profound understanding of human behavior, Marcus provides insights, wisdom, and practical guidance on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity to interacting with others. Consequently, the Meditations have become required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style. In Gregory Hays’s new translation—the first in a generation—Marcus’s thoughts speak with a new immediacy: never before have they been so directly and powerfully presented. As you kiss your son good night, says Epictetus, whisper to yourself, 'He may be dead in the morning.' Marcus Aurelius isn't being prescriptive here. He's not even asking us to look internally to ourselves to become better people, or deal with grief or suffering or anger. He's asking himself to look internally. No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It's the same old thing, from one end of the world to the other. It fills the history books, ancient and modern, and the cities, and the houses too. Nothing new at all."