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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Philosophy-Audio) 5* Words of Wisdom, thoughtfully written by a second century Roman Emperor on how to co-exist is a society and cosmos. It's comforting to know that through the centuries his words still come through crystal clear.
A reviewer here, justifying his one-star rating, called "Meditations" a "livejournal" that only got popular due to the fame of the author, a Roman emperor. I'm not sure what is wrong with that per se, but the characterization of the book as a blog or a "dear diary" of a great emperor isn't entirely off-the-mark. However, that the said emperor was well-versed in Greek stoicism ensures his writing is far removed from the base self-gratification one ordinarily associates with the blogosphere.
Aurelius' philosophy is practical, for sure, but not petty: his idea of a logos, the system of the universe, and that everything is a part of it informs his thoughts, whether about "rejecting a sense of injury to make the injury itself disappear" or to adopt a sense of acceptance ("When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly."). Perhaps his trials as emperor let him put into practice what he studied, making his blog very insightful.
The structure of the work indicats that the aphorisms and mini-essays here were intended as notes to self as opposed to general readership: the importance of virtue and harmony are sometimes presented with references to his acquaintances which aren't so readily accessible unless the reader is familiar with his history [Hays provides a very useful introduction for this, though].
The translation by Hays is excellent: brief (Hays puts in five words what others put in fifty), lively and contemporary, the book can be read as a self-help book or a starter's guide to a once popular philosophy of life.
Aurelius' philosophy is practical, for sure, but not petty: his idea of a logos, the system of the universe, and that everything is a part of it informs his thoughts, whether about "rejecting a sense of injury to make the injury itself disappear" or to adopt a sense of acceptance ("When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly."). Perhaps his trials as emperor let him put into practice what he studied, making his blog very insightful.
The structure of the work indicats that the aphorisms and mini-essays here were intended as notes to self as opposed to general readership: the importance of virtue and harmony are sometimes presented with references to his acquaintances which aren't so readily accessible unless the reader is familiar with his history [Hays provides a very useful introduction for this, though].
The translation by Hays is excellent: brief (Hays puts in five words what others put in fifty), lively and contemporary, the book can be read as a self-help book or a starter's guide to a once popular philosophy of life.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
one of the best things I've ever read. this book explains life in ways I had thought before, but could never articulate. read it slowly. read it out of order. read it again.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Feels weird to give it less than 5 stars. Maybe next time