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vonya45's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
The key points of this book can be summed up by this paragraph from the end:
When thou art troubled about anything, thou hast forgotten this, that all things happen according to the universal nature; and forgotten this, that a man's wrongful act is nothing to thee; and further thou hast forgotten this, that everything which happens, always happened so and will happen so, and now happens so everywhere; forgotten this too, how close is the kinship between a man and the whole human race, for it is a community, not of a little blood or seed, but of intelligence. And thou hast forgotten this too, that every man's intelligence is a god, and is an efflux of the deity; and forgotten this, that nothing is a man's own, but that his child and his body and his very soul came from the deity; forgotten this, that everything is opinion; and lastly thou hast forgotten that every man lives the present time only, and loses only this.
Everything else can be fit into one of these concepts. That leads to a lot of repetition, passages that are practically the same as something read several chapters earlier. But that's not necessarily a bad thing as the reader gets multiple opportunities to think about the philosophy behind each of the concepts.
What struck me as sort of funny/interesting is how much of Marcus Aurelius' wise words actually come across as self-assurances. He is worried about death as he grows older, so he talks about how to not worry about death. He struggles to understand why other people do bad things, so he talks about why people do bad things. He was obviously an extremely intelligent philosopher, but as I read through Meditations I started to get the sense that perhaps he wasn't so much a wise sage with flawless grasp on life's meaning, as a flawed and anxious man with a lot of problems, who happened to figure out some solutions.
This book is not for the stoic philosopher who has it all figured out and lives in a serene state of contentment. It's for the worried, nervous, pissed off, bitter, disappointed, isolated, or self-loathing people. The concepts stand up to the test of time. Humans have always had the same problems with themselves, each other, and the universe, and this book of stoicism represents some of the ways to combat these feelings that make life so difficult.
When thou art troubled about anything, thou hast forgotten this, that all things happen according to the universal nature; and forgotten this, that a man's wrongful act is nothing to thee; and further thou hast forgotten this, that everything which happens, always happened so and will happen so, and now happens so everywhere; forgotten this too, how close is the kinship between a man and the whole human race, for it is a community, not of a little blood or seed, but of intelligence. And thou hast forgotten this too, that every man's intelligence is a god, and is an efflux of the deity; and forgotten this, that nothing is a man's own, but that his child and his body and his very soul came from the deity; forgotten this, that everything is opinion; and lastly thou hast forgotten that every man lives the present time only, and loses only this.
Everything else can be fit into one of these concepts. That leads to a lot of repetition, passages that are practically the same as something read several chapters earlier. But that's not necessarily a bad thing as the reader gets multiple opportunities to think about the philosophy behind each of the concepts.
What struck me as sort of funny/interesting is how much of Marcus Aurelius' wise words actually come across as self-assurances. He is worried about death as he grows older, so he talks about how to not worry about death. He struggles to understand why other people do bad things, so he talks about why people do bad things. He was obviously an extremely intelligent philosopher, but as I read through Meditations I started to get the sense that perhaps he wasn't so much a wise sage with flawless grasp on life's meaning, as a flawed and anxious man with a lot of problems, who happened to figure out some solutions.
This book is not for the stoic philosopher who has it all figured out and lives in a serene state of contentment. It's for the worried, nervous, pissed off, bitter, disappointed, isolated, or self-loathing people. The concepts stand up to the test of time. Humans have always had the same problems with themselves, each other, and the universe, and this book of stoicism represents some of the ways to combat these feelings that make life so difficult.
ilovegravy's review against another edition
4.0
Nuostabus stoicizmo kūrinys. Daugelis idėjų labai tolimos ir nepritaikomos šiuolaikiniam žmogui, bet nemaža jų dalis - įspūdingai taiklios ir ilgaamžiškos.
Pradžioje skaityti buvo kažkiek pikta. Visgi knygoje nonstop kartojama, jog viską valdo prigimtis, visuomeniškumas ir teisingumas turėtų būti tavo pagrindinės gyvenimo ašys, o malonumai, tai tik tuštybės. Nepavyksta tapti geru žmogumi? Išeik iš gyvenimo. (Geras žmogus, anot šitos knygos, yra vos ne ideali būtybė). Žmonės tavimi naudojasi, šmeižia ir šiaip laiko šiukšle? Nusišypsok jiems, buk malonus ir draugiškai pamokyk dorybių.
Skamba neįtikėtinai, nes mūsų egocentrizmo laikai tokių vertybių nebepuoselėja.
Kažkur iki pusės knygos norėjosi staugt, jog gyvenimu reikia mėgautis, reikia leist sau fantazuot, kartais klysti, kartais jausti visus jausmus iš karto. Norėjosi pasakyti, kad knyga atgyvena. Vėliau, apsipratusi su tuo, jog su ne visomis knygos mintimis sutinku, bet ir neprivalau, pasidarė kažkaip gera ir malonu. Ir knyga persimainė iš pramogos šaltinio (šį kartą neįtikusio) į nenupasakojamai gilią
įžvalgą į Senovės Romos laikus, į patį Marką Aurelijų.
Kūrinys sudarytas iš kelių skyrių, vadinamu knygomis, kuriuose punktais vardijami pamokymai, bet, o stebukle, jis neįgyja to erzinančio pamoksliško tono, kuris lyg ir sako: “Aš tau kalbėsiu apie dalykus, kurių tu iš tikrųjų nepasieksi, nes tam turėtum būti tokiu antžmogiu, kaip aš.”
Knygos genezė nėra iki galo išaiškinta, bet galimai tai tiesiog buvo užrašai - “Sau pačiam”, nemigos kankinamų naktų pamąstymai, savęs padrąsinimai. Ir man patinka tikėti šia istorikų teorija. Teorija, jog didysis Romos imperatorius, valdovas, išsaugojęs valstybę vienu iš sudėtingiausių jos laikotarpių, rašė sau pačiam patarimus, kaip nugyventi gyvenimą dorai ir teisingai.
P.s. jaučiu, jog kūrinys neatitiko mano brandumo ir jį perskaityti turėčiau tik po daugelio metų.
Pradžioje skaityti buvo kažkiek pikta. Visgi knygoje nonstop kartojama, jog viską valdo prigimtis, visuomeniškumas ir teisingumas turėtų būti tavo pagrindinės gyvenimo ašys, o malonumai, tai tik tuštybės. Nepavyksta tapti geru žmogumi? Išeik iš gyvenimo. (Geras žmogus, anot šitos knygos, yra vos ne ideali būtybė). Žmonės tavimi naudojasi, šmeižia ir šiaip laiko šiukšle? Nusišypsok jiems, buk malonus ir draugiškai pamokyk dorybių.
Skamba neįtikėtinai, nes mūsų egocentrizmo laikai tokių vertybių nebepuoselėja.
Kažkur iki pusės knygos norėjosi staugt, jog gyvenimu reikia mėgautis, reikia leist sau fantazuot, kartais klysti, kartais jausti visus jausmus iš karto. Norėjosi pasakyti, kad knyga atgyvena. Vėliau, apsipratusi su tuo, jog su ne visomis knygos mintimis sutinku, bet ir neprivalau, pasidarė kažkaip gera ir malonu. Ir knyga persimainė iš pramogos šaltinio (šį kartą neįtikusio) į nenupasakojamai gilią
įžvalgą į Senovės Romos laikus, į patį Marką Aurelijų.
Kūrinys sudarytas iš kelių skyrių, vadinamu knygomis, kuriuose punktais vardijami pamokymai, bet, o stebukle, jis neįgyja to erzinančio pamoksliško tono, kuris lyg ir sako: “Aš tau kalbėsiu apie dalykus, kurių tu iš tikrųjų nepasieksi, nes tam turėtum būti tokiu antžmogiu, kaip aš.”
Knygos genezė nėra iki galo išaiškinta, bet galimai tai tiesiog buvo užrašai - “Sau pačiam”, nemigos kankinamų naktų pamąstymai, savęs padrąsinimai. Ir man patinka tikėti šia istorikų teorija. Teorija, jog didysis Romos imperatorius, valdovas, išsaugojęs valstybę vienu iš sudėtingiausių jos laikotarpių, rašė sau pačiam patarimus, kaip nugyventi gyvenimą dorai ir teisingai.
P.s. jaučiu, jog kūrinys neatitiko mano brandumo ir jį perskaityti turėčiau tik po daugelio metų.
gearyofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Not a long book but one which demands your time and respect. Views and outlooks which are still respected 2000 years later have earned that time.
Even with this being a new translation the syntax is not an easy one to process should it be new to you.
I read this on a kindle and was able to highlight sections of worth.
Memorable lines etc.
I am happy to have read it, will keep an eye out for other versions and keep the quotes handy.
Even with this being a new translation the syntax is not an easy one to process should it be new to you.
I read this on a kindle and was able to highlight sections of worth.
Memorable lines etc.
I am happy to have read it, will keep an eye out for other versions and keep the quotes handy.