Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: the New Translation

Book Synopsis: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

The New Translation of a Classic Philosophical Text: from Self-Help to Self-Examination

From the Foreword:

“Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher who reigned from 161 AD to 180 AD, alongside his adoptive brother, Lucius Verus. Known as one of the Five Good Emperors, he would be the last ruler of the Pax Romana (Roman Peace), a two hundred year Golden Age of relative peace and stability. His greatest surviving work, Meditations, was written in private and for himself, a kind of self-help journal with philosophical underpinnings that helped keep him on his moral path of self-improvement.”

Marcus Aurelius wrote the twelve books of the Meditations in Koine Greek. Each book chronicles a different period in his life, and fit no real chronological order. The writing style is simple and direct, as he felt writing should be. Among its chief themes is the placement of humans amid a universe in constant change. For Aurelius, there is a hierarchy of forms, with the gods at the top, followed by sentient and rational beings, with non-rational animals, and lifeless objects last. That said, he believed that there was one universal soul, and one universal matter, while still allowing a space for free will. Following this line of thinking, each human is not only part of a universal whole, but part of the social whole—we were made for each other, and to harm another would be to act against Nature.

Much of Meditations is spent hammering home various philosophical points, such as: Human nature consists in being just, kind, and generous; we are social creatures at heart; we should forgive easily and teach each other; we should mind our own business; other people can’t hurt you, as pain and trauma are only as painful and traumatic as your mind allows; the fear of death is irrational, and you can quell your anxiety by remembering how many others in history have passed before you; passions and lust, if not controlled, will hold you back from your true potential; good and bad are constructs, but have real value; fame is fleeting; and rational thinking and high principles can bring happiness.

But most importantly, he asks us to remember that being just, benevolent, and generous is literally what we were made to do, so get out there and live life and be good, because you’re going to die really soon.”

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