Meditations: The Annotated Edition
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- Create Date：2021-04-28 18:31:12
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Marcus Aurelius
- ISBN：B08F51CMVM
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Reviews
Vasilis Mparas
，
Μακάρι να έβγαινε και σε έκδοση τσέπης να το είχες σε πρώτη χρήση。。。
Carrie Poppy
，
Fantastic
Jason
，
Even though he was a Roman emperor， he gives some pretty down-to-earth advice from a Stoic point of view。 I highly recommend this book， along with Seneca's On the Shortness of Life。 Even though he was a Roman emperor， he gives some pretty down-to-earth advice from a Stoic point of view。 I highly recommend this book， along with Seneca's On the Shortness of Life。 。。。more
Timo
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Many insightful thoughts paired with nonsensical ramblings。
Alexandru
，
Nu pot să spun că se numără printre cărțile mele preferate， dar dacă traducerea din greaca veche și ulterior din latină până la adaptarea în formatul actual este corectă， atunci aș putea afirma că aduce câteva lucruri pozitive cu care poți începe o zi de luni în maratonul unei noi săptămâni。 Este interesant să intri în mintea unui om care a trăit în urmă cu două mii de ani și să-i descoperi toate dedesubturile minții cu lucruri pe care și le spunea zilnic către sine însuși。 Mai fascinant este fa Nu pot să spun că se numără printre cărțile mele preferate， dar dacă traducerea din greaca veche și ulterior din latină până la adaptarea în formatul actual este corectă， atunci aș putea afirma că aduce câteva lucruri pozitive cu care poți începe o zi de luni în maratonul unei noi săptămâni。 Este interesant să intri în mintea unui om care a trăit în urmă cu două mii de ani și să-i descoperi toate dedesubturile minții cu lucruri pe care și le spunea zilnic către sine însuși。 Mai fascinant este faptul că nu ești invitat în mintea unui om oarecare ce și-a consumat viața acum două milenii， ci în mintea unuia care a condus unul dintre cele mai mari Imperii ale lumii și care se făcea responsabil de bunăstarea și destinul a o sută de milioane de oameni， adică aproximativ un sfert din populația totală a planetei în acea vreme。 Am putea spune că gândurile noastre generale din viața modernă care ne inundă în drumul spre locul de muncă sau spre facultate laolaltă cu alți oameni în metrou sau autobuz pătrunși de aceeași realitate sunt diferite față de cele ale unor oameni care au trăit în urmă cu două mii de ani， dar probabil ne-am înșela pentru că în esență omul este același。 Dintre miile de cuvinte pe care un Împărat al Imperiului Roman și le-a spus către sine însuși în vremuri în care era măcinat de gândurile de a nu fi trădat de generalii săi， de a încerca să fie un bun conducător pentru popor și de a menține granițele Imperiului intacte， am extras câteva fraze care în prezent au aceeași relevanță ca acum două mii de ani。 “Ori de câte ori te loveşti de obrăznicia cuiva， întreabă-te de îndată: ‘E cu putinţă să nu existe în lume obraznici？’ Nu se poate！ Nu cere atunci un lucru imposibil。”“În primul rând， fereşte-te să acţionezi la întâmplare şi fără un scop precis; în al doilea rând， nu raporta acţiunile tale la altceva decât la scopul util binelui comun。”“Păstrează-te deci simplu， bun， integru， demn， natural， prieten al dreptăţii， pios， binevoitor， afectuos şi energic în îndeplinirea acţiunilor care ţi se potrivesc。”“Suntem născuți pentru a ne ajuta unii pe alții precum picioarele， mâinile， pleoapele， dinții。 Deci e împotriva naturii de a ne face rău unii altora。”“Nu este în puterea unui stăpânitor să-și creeze oameni după nevoile obștești， dar depinde de el să-i întrebuințeze așa după cum sunt， așezând pe fiecare după meritul lui。”“Nu te lăsa să te bată vânturile în toate părțile。 În tot ce faci， caută dreptatea și în toate gândurile caută adevărul。” “Important este prezentul， nici viitorul， nici trecutul care ne împovărează。” În edițiile mai vechi， cei care urmau să intre în intimitatea gândurilor Împăratului Romei erau întâmpinați cu un mesaj special: «Să-ți fie prieten în ceasurile grele și să te sprijine cum m-a sprijinit pe mine。»Marcus Aurelius s-a născut la Roma pe 26 aprilie în anul 121， dar paradoxal este că fix la 1900 de ani de la nașterea sa， cineva s-a găsit să scrie total aleatoriu despre vorbele sale într-un mediu virtual pe care vechii romani cu siguranță nu și l-ar fi putut imagina posibil vreodată。 Guilty！ Hai， “la mulți ani！”😃 。。。more
Chris J
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I enjoyed Book One the best。 Books 1-5 are worth reading。 After that。。。it gets pretty tough to persevere through。
Anton Tkachuk
，
Таку книгу не заспойлериш。 Тут прості та відомі істини: легкі до сприйняття， складніші – до виконання。 Читаючи цю читанку， хочеться накинути собі віку， не второпаючи чому ведеш бесіду з римським імператором і чому його слова часом стають гаряче доречними。 Мені не прозвучав цей абстрактний текст одразу повністю， тому віднесу цю книгу до розряду настільних， і можна при потребі повертатися。 А ще половину книги займають примітки до тексту， тому загубитися в контексті автора у вас буде менше шансів。 Таку книгу не заспойлериш。 Тут прості та відомі істини: легкі до сприйняття， складніші – до виконання。 Читаючи цю читанку， хочеться накинути собі віку， не второпаючи чому ведеш бесіду з римським імператором і чому його слова часом стають гаряче доречними。 Мені не прозвучав цей абстрактний текст одразу повністю， тому віднесу цю книгу до розряду настільних， і можна при потребі повертатися。 А ще половину книги займають примітки до тексту， тому загубитися в контексті автора у вас буде менше шансів。 Чистий стоїцизм радше був би чимось радикальним та неприродним， зрештою， як і будь-що рафіноване。 Втім тези цього вчення далеко не найгірші， щоб брати на озброєння навіть сьогодні。 。。。more
Laurens Bynens
，
Een troostend traktaat in troosteloze tijden。
Zachary Oberholtzer
，
I’m not going to rate this book because to be honest I struggled to get through it。 The lack of any narrative or real structure and its repetitive nature make it difficult to focus on it and read at length。 To be fair it was never constructed in any sense of the phrase to be read by anyone but the author。 It is a compilation， somewhat incomplete， of notes， random thoughts， self admonishments and reminders。 They are surprisingly accessible to the modern reader as Marcus tries to teach himself to I’m not going to rate this book because to be honest I struggled to get through it。 The lack of any narrative or real structure and its repetitive nature make it difficult to focus on it and read at length。 To be fair it was never constructed in any sense of the phrase to be read by anyone but the author。 It is a compilation， somewhat incomplete， of notes， random thoughts， self admonishments and reminders。 They are surprisingly accessible to the modern reader as Marcus tries to teach himself to do such mundane things as: ignore the small thoughts of others， be generous and expect nothing in return， accept challenges that present themselves， accept bad happenings with stoicism， do your best it’s all you can do。 These along with a few other themes like musings on death and humility come up repetitively throughout the book。 It is an interesting insight into the mind of a man who was nearest a god as any that walked the earth and yet he was frustrated by the same small thoughts that trouble us all， frustrated by the same character flaws in himself and others。 。。。more
Chintan Sheth
，
This has to be one of the most amazing books I've ever read。 Almost 2000 years old wisdom， an entire life of a great man reflected in his own notes， squeezed into 140 pages of dense content。 No fluff， no bs， just hard hitting questions one after another forcing one the ponder their own life over and over again。 It'd be an insult to the book if I'd try to summarize it so just putting my favourite quote here to end。 "Stop all the theorizing about what a good man should be， be one。" This has to be one of the most amazing books I've ever read。 Almost 2000 years old wisdom， an entire life of a great man reflected in his own notes， squeezed into 140 pages of dense content。 No fluff， no bs， just hard hitting questions one after another forcing one the ponder their own life over and over again。 It'd be an insult to the book if I'd try to summarize it so just putting my favourite quote here to end。 "Stop all the theorizing about what a good man should be， be one。" 。。。more
Deborah Kucera
，
I listened to the audiobook on my commute， but I think I would've gotten more out of it if I had read the physical book so I could take it a bit slower and take notes as I went。 There are a lot of great nuggets of wisdom all throughout this book。 Don't let the old English style wording stop you from reading this one。 I listened to the audiobook on my commute， but I think I would've gotten more out of it if I had read the physical book so I could take it a bit slower and take notes as I went。 There are a lot of great nuggets of wisdom all throughout this book。 Don't let the old English style wording stop you from reading this one。 。。。more
Paul Schmidt
，
Definitely worth revisiting。Theme:- Live in accordance with nature。 Don’t be surprised by life for it acts in accordance with its nature。 Accept it with equanimity。Highlights:- 24:15 - “Through not observing what is in the mind of another a man has seldom been seen to be unhappy。 But those who do not observe the movements of their own mind， must of necessity be unhappy。”- 39:02 - “Do not waste the remainder of your life in thoughts about other people which do not refer to some object in common u Definitely worth revisiting。Theme:- Live in accordance with nature。 Don’t be surprised by life for it acts in accordance with its nature。 Accept it with equanimity。Highlights:- 24:15 - “Through not observing what is in the mind of another a man has seldom been seen to be unhappy。 But those who do not observe the movements of their own mind， must of necessity be unhappy。”- 39:02 - “Do not waste the remainder of your life in thoughts about other people which do not refer to some object in common utility。 For you lose the opportunity in doing something else when you have such thoughts as， “What is such a person doing and why and what is he saying and what is he thinking of and what is he contriving？” and whatever else of the kind which makes us wander away from the observation of our own sovereign mind。 We should put a stop to anything that is without clear purpose。。。”- 51:15 - “Stop wandering aimlessly; you are not going to read your own memoir。”- 54:30 - “Men seek retreats for themselves - houses in the country， seashores， and mountains。 And you， too， tend to desire such things very much， but this is altogether a mark of the most common sort of men。 For it is in your power to retire into yourself whenever you choose to。 For there is nowhere with more quiet or freedom from trouble， for a man to retire to， than his own soul - but， particularly when he has within him such thoughts， that by looking into them， he is immediately in perfect tranquility。 And， by tranquility， I mean nothing else than the good ordering of the mind。 Constantly， then， give yourself this retreat， and renew yourself， and let the principles you’ve turned to be brief and fundamental， which， as soon as you shall recall them， will be sufficient to cleanse the soul completely and to send you back free from all discontent。”- 1:04:55 - “What is praise？ 。。。 Everything which is in any way beautiful is beautiful in itself and is an end in itself。 It does not have praise as part of it。 Nothing is made worse or better by being praised。。。。 That which is really beautiful has no need of anything。”- 2:48:43 - “Indeed in the case of most pains， let this remark of Epicurus aid you: that pain cannot be intolerable and everlasting if you bear in mind that it must have its limits and if you add nothing to it by your imagination。”- 2:53:53 - “When you have done a good act and another has received it， why do you look for a third thing？ [praise or recognition]”- 4:09:15 - “And if you do fail， let your failure be in attempting this: he who follows reason in all things is both tranquil and active at the same time， and also cheerful and collected。”- 4:40:25 - “Consider when you are much vexed or grieved， that man’s life is only a moment。 And after a short time we are all laid out dead。”- 4:40:40 - “That it is not men’s practices that disturb us， for those acts have their foundation in men’s ruling principles， but it is our own opinions which disturb us。”- 4:55:00 - “I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men， but yet sets less value on his own opinion of himself than on the opinion of others。”- 5:03:25 - “。。。 but with respect to what may happen to you from without， consider that it happens either by chance or according to providence。 And you must neither blame chance nor accuse Providence。”- 5:11:33 - “Depart then satisfied， for he also who releases you is satisfied。” 。。。more
Georgios Zervas
，
«Ένδον σκάπτε· ένδον η πηγή του αγαθού και αεί αναβλύειν δυναμένη， εάν αεί σκάπτης»
Kyle
，
This book contains motivational tidbits from one of the most powerful men who ever lived （sounds valuable！）。 It seems that during Aurelius' time， optimising one's attitude towards life and demonstrating such an attitude was in high fashion。 If I dare to summarise his philosophy， I would do so thus: modesty， willpower， patience， hard work， detachment， trust in logic， and friendliness。 It does not deserve a 5-star rating because it is not truly astounding and can be slightly dry at times。 The desc This book contains motivational tidbits from one of the most powerful men who ever lived （sounds valuable！）。 It seems that during Aurelius' time， optimising one's attitude towards life and demonstrating such an attitude was in high fashion。 If I dare to summarise his philosophy， I would do so thus: modesty， willpower， patience， hard work， detachment， trust in logic， and friendliness。 It does not deserve a 5-star rating because it is not truly astounding and can be slightly dry at times。 The description of a 4-star rating is， "really liked it"， which suits my feelings towards this collection of straightforward， dependable wisdom。 。。。more
Ali Akbar Zaidi
，
Will durant once wrote that the existential crisis of the Greeks has come back to haunt us。 Meditations by Marcus Aurelius gives the reader the same feeling。 Modern times need a modern stoic。 A book that reached my daily routine and thoughts as I read it。 It is remarkable that a book written hundreds of years ago is still relevant。 Three themes I found across the book。 Stoicism as a school of Greek philosophy adapted by the Romans rests on these three themes。 One， the transience and shortness of Will durant once wrote that the existential crisis of the Greeks has come back to haunt us。 Meditations by Marcus Aurelius gives the reader the same feeling。 Modern times need a modern stoic。 A book that reached my daily routine and thoughts as I read it。 It is remarkable that a book written hundreds of years ago is still relevant。 Three themes I found across the book。 Stoicism as a school of Greek philosophy adapted by the Romans rests on these three themes。 One， the transience and shortness of life， everything comes from dust and to dust it will return。 There is infinity before and infinity after and whatever is in it， does not matter much。 Second， what matters is your role as per your nature， your "LOGOS"。 The role assigned by nature， animals and trees always stick to their role but mankind is unable to do it because of a disturbed mind。 Love and kindness in face of hatred， unkindness and betrayal is the greatest virtue。 A stoic must always remember his end and keep his expectations low。 Marcus wants himself to respect the Gods and whatever plan they have chalked out for us。 One must not be swayed by sadness， pain is lesser than felt to a lesser extent and a meaningful life is the only logical conclusion。 And in the end， everything flows。 you cannot touch the same river twice and calm and coherence will go along way in ameliorating the human condition。 。。。more
Graeme Stewart
，
I usually pick this up every 18 months or so。 The most accessible， and even poetic， of the core Stoic texts。 Surprising， since it is basically a personal journal。 Profound， occasionally funny， sometimes cutting to the core。
Kyle
，
Sehr gute Taschenbuchausgabe， die leicht zu tragen ist。
Laura Saga
，
Para leer poquito a poco， reflexión a reflexión。 Me quedo con que siempre hay que dejar ganar a la razón y que los insufribles ya existían por aquel entonces: compadecedlos， pues no han logrado alcanzar el raciocinio deseado。
Haneen
，
This wasn't a book Aurelius intended on publishing。 He wrote it for himself， i think that's why i loved it so much， i can't judge on any sentence he wrote as being false or pretentious or him trying to persuade us ， because he wasn't。 they were all things he truely believed。 "How many people don’t even know your name。 How many will soon have forgotten it。 How many offer you praise now—and tomorrow， perhaps， contempt。That to be remembered is worthless。 Like fame。 Like everything。" Funny how 2000 This wasn't a book Aurelius intended on publishing。 He wrote it for himself， i think that's why i loved it so much， i can't judge on any sentence he wrote as being false or pretentious or him trying to persuade us ， because he wasn't。 they were all things he truely believed。 "How many people don’t even know your name。 How many will soon have forgotten it。 How many offer you praise now—and tomorrow， perhaps， contempt。That to be remembered is worthless。 Like fame。 Like everything。" Funny how 2000 years later we still remember him（ But i don't think he really cares about that） *The repetition is the only sliiightly bad thing about this book。 。。。more
Ruslan Nasonov
，
Озвучка хорошая， это факт。 С одной стороны слушается легко — сюжета нет никакого。 С другой стороны， фразы начинают влетать в одно ухо， и вылетать в другое。 В целом， как мне показалось， с разных сторон обдумываются несколько мыслей: — Жизнь коротка， живи прямо сейчас — Ты в жизни песчинка， не бойся что-то делать — Будь достойным — Не обращай внимания на окружающих неадекватов — Если не можешь ничего толкового и достойного сделать в жизни， покинь её （не знаю что тут имел ввиду автор） Любопытно， чт Озвучка хорошая， это факт。 С одной стороны слушается легко — сюжета нет никакого。 С другой стороны， фразы начинают влетать в одно ухо， и вылетать в другое。 В целом， как мне показалось， с разных сторон обдумываются несколько мыслей: — Жизнь коротка， живи прямо сейчас — Ты в жизни песчинка， не бойся что-то делать — Будь достойным — Не обращай внимания на окружающих неадекватов — Если не можешь ничего толкового и достойного сделать в жизни， покинь её （не знаю что тут имел ввиду автор） Любопытно， что вроде как прикасаешься к мыслям древнего римского императора， но с точки зрения содержания на мой взгляд ничего сверхинтересного。 。。。more
Judy
，
Marcus Aurelius seems like he was a swell dude。 I would have loved to know him personally。 His mediations are， according to the appendix of the edition I read， therapeutic exercises to clear his mind。 I didn't mind the resulting repetitiveness， as it helped to cement the points that seemed to be most important to the former emperor。 Since I bought a cheap copy， I also broke my rule of not writing into books and scribbled around the paragraphs I enjoyed most。Having read the Bible extensively as a Marcus Aurelius seems like he was a swell dude。 I would have loved to know him personally。 His mediations are， according to the appendix of the edition I read， therapeutic exercises to clear his mind。 I didn't mind the resulting repetitiveness， as it helped to cement the points that seemed to be most important to the former emperor。 Since I bought a cheap copy， I also broke my rule of not writing into books and scribbled around the paragraphs I enjoyed most。Having read the Bible extensively as a child， I couldn't help but see many parallels to the teachings of Jesus。 While the prophet may have been more outspoken， and the emperor more of a quiet thinker; both teach acceptance of what fate/the cosmos/god/the gods bestow upon us， thankfulness， tolerance and the will to do good。 I could recommend this to anyone who。。。 no， actually， just anyone。 I think that everyone who reads this could get something out of it。 。。。more
Nasim
，
God like philosophy！
Kelsey Madge
，
I was amazed to see how applicable it was to todays everyday life。
Nathan
，
This took me a while to get through and I still missed some of its details。 But it quickly became one of my favorites。 It's interesting that its made up of notes that Marcus wrote for himself。 Reminders of how to live and how to deal with life's hardship and change。 Some of it reminded me of other books on meditation， zen， and mindfulness。 Can't wait to go through it again and check out a newer translation as well。 This took me a while to get through and I still missed some of its details。 But it quickly became one of my favorites。 It's interesting that its made up of notes that Marcus wrote for himself。 Reminders of how to live and how to deal with life's hardship and change。 Some of it reminded me of other books on meditation， zen， and mindfulness。 Can't wait to go through it again and check out a newer translation as well。 。。。more
Mark
，
‘Nothing happens to anybody which he （or she） is not fitted by nature to bear。’I just finished ‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius， the emperor with a thousand quotes translated by Gregory Hays。 This is my first book of philosophy and literature of ‘mindfulness’。‘Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking。’‘Meditations’ is a book I heard good things about and that it can help anyone to improve themselves， their mental health and personal developmen ‘Nothing happens to anybody which he （or she） is not fitted by nature to bear。’I just finished ‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius， the emperor with a thousand quotes translated by Gregory Hays。 This is my first book of philosophy and literature of ‘mindfulness’。‘Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking。’‘Meditations’ is a book I heard good things about and that it can help anyone to improve themselves， their mental health and personal development。Written in 171-180 AD by Marcus， it was never meant to be read by the masses。 He contemplated on the virtues of life， taking notes for his own edification and how to be a ‘better’ person than he was yesterday。‘You have power over your mind - not outside events。 Realise this， and you will find strength。’Those scribbles formed this book。 It’s surprisingly relevant to contemporary life， to cultivate an improved and healthier way of thinking。 It has the sensible， practical pieces of applicable advice to help govern your mind when it feels ungovernable。 Now I feel like Bill Bailey swallowing the little book of calm in ‘Black Books’。‘Look within : do not allow the special quality or worth of anything to pass you by。’You may already possess the attitudes and ‘meditations’ within this book of ancient wisdom written 2000 years ago， but not everyone does。 The book is a bit like a good friend or a family member who has the right words of advice at the right time。 Don’t read the free/cheap versions， there’s a big difference。 I did lots of highlighting and note making。A great book！‘Live a good life。 If there are gods and they are just， then they will not care how devout you have been， but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by。 If there are gods， but unjust， then you should not worship them。 If there are no gods， then you will be gone， but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones。’ 。。。more
Camilo Andrés Herrera Romero
，
Marco Aurelio， viejo cucarrón， me pusiste a pensarExcelente lectura， conceptos sencillos para la vida， algunas referencias que requieren investigar algo de historia。 Pero un gran mensaje en general， muy útil。
Eliza
，
Exquisite and wise。 A book to reread and relish。
Steven Nobody
，
I did not finish the stoic work Meditations by Marcus Aurelius。 I expected to like it more but really it is just thoughts he wrote for and about himself。 So when he writes "You are a soul carrying a corpse，" there's no context。 His ideas would be better put on a daily calendar than in book form。 I like that concept about the soul carrying a corpse， though。 And how about this one: "No， you do not have thousands of years to live。 Urgency is on you。 While you live， while you can， become good。" Beau I did not finish the stoic work Meditations by Marcus Aurelius。 I expected to like it more but really it is just thoughts he wrote for and about himself。 So when he writes "You are a soul carrying a corpse，" there's no context。 His ideas would be better put on a daily calendar than in book form。 I like that concept about the soul carrying a corpse， though。 And how about this one: "No， you do not have thousands of years to live。 Urgency is on you。 While you live， while you can， become good。" Beautiful！ And here's a longer one， "First， do not be upset: all things follow the nature of the Whole， and in a little while you will be no one and nowhere， as is true now even of Hadrian and Augustus。 Next， concentrate on the matter in hand and see it for what it is。 Remind yourself of your duty to be a good man and rehearse what man’s nature demands: then do it straight and unswerving， or say what you best think right。 Always， though， in kindness， integrity， and sincerity。" 。。。more
Mohammad Al-Rashed
，