What do you think?
Rate this book
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Gregory Hays
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
Paperback
Published June 22, 2022
About the author
Marcus Aurelius
937 books5,436 followersMarcus 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.
Marcus Aurelius' work Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty and has been praised for its "exquisite accent and its infinite tenderness."
Marcus Aurelius' work Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty and has been praised for its "exquisite accent and its infinite tenderness."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 1, 2024
Rating goes to the translator who gives great context/history for the philosophies/time period discuss in aurelius’s journals. Not rating the “meditations” itself because it’s that man’s personal journals and there’s any number of things that can be learned and reflected upon from the contents
August 31, 2024
Would give it 4.5 stars. I am amazed at how this is his personal journal and something that he did not intend, and maybe even didn’t want to be published. I also will probably have to reread a different translation of this book at some point since I think that could change a lot of the messages and thoughts Marcus has. Overall it is a great book on maintaining an inner calm, but also much more than just controlling what you can control.
February 26, 2024
2nd century Jordan Peterson
May 22, 2024
Everyone should have this one on their book shelf. This will be a book I pick up every year or two from now on.
The fact that this is not a published book and is Marcus’ personal journal is pretty fascinating. There’s a reason people study him 1,800 years later.
“Don’t go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one.”
The fact that this is not a published book and is Marcus’ personal journal is pretty fascinating. There’s a reason people study him 1,800 years later.
“Don’t go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one.”
August 15, 2024
Excellent translation, very accessible and with thorough endnotes.
And there was so much wisdom in Marcus Aurelius. I think one of my main takeaways will be his oft-repeated point that we should not attribute other’s actions we perceive as “bad” to malice, but rather to an incorrect perception of good and evil. Many saints have recommended the same habit.
And there was so much wisdom in Marcus Aurelius. I think one of my main takeaways will be his oft-repeated point that we should not attribute other’s actions we perceive as “bad” to malice, but rather to an incorrect perception of good and evil. Many saints have recommended the same habit.
May 10, 2024
Meditations has no singular moral or point to it, it is a collection of the thoughts of one of Rome's greatest emperors. It is a look at the thought process of a man so distant from us reading that it should be unrecognisable, yet it is so similar. He scolds himself for being stupid, for getting angry at people, such small things for a Roman emperor to obsess over. Yet he does, when you remember that each one of these thoughts might have been prompted by something he experienced, the constant repetition of points becomes understandable. Each time he gets angry at an annoying person, he writes down why he should not be angry and he move on. We are lucky he referred to himself in the 2nd person instead of the 1st, as the reader can very easily imagine "you" as themselves. The first book alone is a standalone in which he lists the debts and thanks he has to give to people in his life, an exercise all of us could benefit from partaking in. His Stoic philosophy is an appealing one, while I don't believe I am yet willing to accept such a deterministic worldview as the 'logos', the virtues and logic put forward are attractive nonetheless. The simple idea that your mind cannot be harmed by external factors paired with Socrates' idea of justice and virtue, are enough to live a virtuous life. The value of Meditations is completely dependant on what the reader pulls from it and applies to their own life, and I pulled quite a lot.
April 6, 2023
This was a fascinating read. Firstly I was amazed by how timeless it was. This could have been written by someone living today, but the fact that it was written almost 2000 years ago, reveals how very little human beings have changed.
Today, we arrogantly and ignorantly assume that our scientific progress over the last few centuries and our technological achievements in the last century have made us wiser, kinder, more intelligent, more capable human beings than those from the past. Well, Meditations completely obliterates that fallacy.
Marcus' writings prove time and time again that despite 'progress' each new generation continues to be troubled by the same deep human questions, continue to realise our limitations to knowledge and that attempts to avoid mortality, pain and suffering is futile.
In fact you could argue that modern society has regressed from those living 2000 years ago. Our increasing reliance and belief in Science has distracted us from much needed philosophical thought and understanding required for a meaningful and fulfilled existence, contributing to societal decay and (if we continue like this) the eventual collapse of civilisation.
However what really resonated for me was that like myself, Marcus was clearly struggling to overcome a fear of mortality (not a fear of dying, but a fear of one-day no longer existing). I found his philosophy extremely therapeutic, alleviating much of my own dread, and giving me an unexpected, but on reflection seemingly obvious, solution - a way of thinking that makes such fear irrelevant.
For those external obstacles in life that you can't control (like death), you can instead choose to change the way you think about them, so that YOU no longer see them as obstacles but instead accept them for what they are - the inevitable and natural way your life must unfold. Here's a great example:
"You've lived as a citizen in a great city. Five years or a hundred-what's the difference? The laws make no distinction. And to be sent away from it, not by a tyrant or a dishonest judge, but by Nature, who first invited you in-why is that so terrible? Like the impresario ringing down the curtain on an actor: "But I've only gotten through three acts...!"
Yes. This will be a drama in three acts, the length fixed by the power that directed your creation, and now directs your dissolution. Neither was yours to determine. So make your exit with grace-the same grace shown to you."
It's a beautiful book that I recommend everyone should read and contemplate.
Today, we arrogantly and ignorantly assume that our scientific progress over the last few centuries and our technological achievements in the last century have made us wiser, kinder, more intelligent, more capable human beings than those from the past. Well, Meditations completely obliterates that fallacy.
Marcus' writings prove time and time again that despite 'progress' each new generation continues to be troubled by the same deep human questions, continue to realise our limitations to knowledge and that attempts to avoid mortality, pain and suffering is futile.
In fact you could argue that modern society has regressed from those living 2000 years ago. Our increasing reliance and belief in Science has distracted us from much needed philosophical thought and understanding required for a meaningful and fulfilled existence, contributing to societal decay and (if we continue like this) the eventual collapse of civilisation.
However what really resonated for me was that like myself, Marcus was clearly struggling to overcome a fear of mortality (not a fear of dying, but a fear of one-day no longer existing). I found his philosophy extremely therapeutic, alleviating much of my own dread, and giving me an unexpected, but on reflection seemingly obvious, solution - a way of thinking that makes such fear irrelevant.
For those external obstacles in life that you can't control (like death), you can instead choose to change the way you think about them, so that YOU no longer see them as obstacles but instead accept them for what they are - the inevitable and natural way your life must unfold. Here's a great example:
"You've lived as a citizen in a great city. Five years or a hundred-what's the difference? The laws make no distinction. And to be sent away from it, not by a tyrant or a dishonest judge, but by Nature, who first invited you in-why is that so terrible? Like the impresario ringing down the curtain on an actor: "But I've only gotten through three acts...!"
Yes. This will be a drama in three acts, the length fixed by the power that directed your creation, and now directs your dissolution. Neither was yours to determine. So make your exit with grace-the same grace shown to you."
It's a beautiful book that I recommend everyone should read and contemplate.
September 10, 2022
The translation that doesn't make me give up after 3 pages.
Read
April 6, 2023Meditation a honest review
Marcus Aurelius had a very complicated life and was a very important person. He was a Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a one-of-a-kind philosopher. He was the last of the rulers of the Five Good Emperors. Marcus Aurelius was also the last emperor of the Pax Romana, the Pax Romana was an age of peace and safety for the Romans which was from 27 BC to 180 AD. He didn't write about his experience of his life in Meditations he actually wrote about his morals and his perspective on how to live a fulfilling and productive life. Meditations was recorded by Marcus Aurelius in his private journal from AD 161 to 180 and was translated by Gregory Hays and published on the VIth of May in MMIII (2003). Gregory Hays is a professor of classics at the University of Konstanz in Germany and studies Greek and Latin palaeography and manuscript.
Meditations isn’t your typical nonfiction book; it's the thoughts and beliefs of Marcus Aurelius on how to live. There isn’t a plot, but there is a very strong theme and that theme is split into V main themes into XII books or chapters. Those V themes are change, death, and the shortness of life; the role and importance of the reasonable mind and will; coping with others and accepting their shortcomings; avoiding the need for pleasure and fame while understanding that you are a short speck in the universe and you don’t entirely matter by yourself like everything else; and living according to nature and fully accepting its plan for you in life. Meditations unlike most fiction books there is no plot, only Marcus Aurelius and you.
I would recommend this book to anyone in their late teens or older. If you're a young reader, then I suggest you wait until you are in your late teens and then read it because the book is written in an informal style of bullet points. The book is about his broken-up thoughts on how to live and the purpose of people. That's why there is so much in those bullet points and it will be hard to understand some of the more complicated and in-depth quotes. I haven’t grasped it entirely and will reread it several times to understand most of its content. I am adapting to the morals from the book every day. Many quotes have such a great impact on your life that if you read it too early you may not be able to take those quotes to heart. He talks about what to do when you won't get out of bed. “At dawn, when you are having trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work —as a human being.’ What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under blankets and stay warm.
-But it’s nicer here….
So you were born to feel ‘nice’? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants and birds doing their individual task as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being?
-But we have to sleep sometimes….
Agreed, but nature set a limit on that like drinking and eating and you’re over the limit” (53). There is so much meaning in those pages to extrapolate that if you read it when you’re younger then you will not get the full cognizance of it compared to when you're an adult. I would give this book a definite V out of V because of the life lessons that it has shown me.
Marcus Aurelius is very straightforward in the small note sections and gets straight to the point, but over the books, he repeats the point over and over in his parables to get the importance of the point across so that you can fully understand the meaning of what he is saying. Marcus Aurelius may seem very harsh, but he isn’t really. He is describing things as they are and how to deal with them if it's possible or not. “Everything that happens is either endurable or not. If it’s endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining. If it's unendurable… then stop complaining. Your destruction will mean its end as well” (132). He is talking about how you shouldn’t complain about all the things in life, they were already planned for you to endure and if you can’t endure it then that was planned as well.
The book of Meditations has helped me a lot in life like when I wake up I think about the first quote to motivate me out of bed and get on with school. I also use the book when I am having a difficult conversation with someone or get mad at them. I think that what happened was their responsibility and my responsibilities are to ignore it and focus on my own. As he says.
“Someone despises me.
That’s their problem.
Mine: not to do or say anything despicable.
Someone hates me. Their problem” (151). When you read Meditations take it to heart and you will undoubtedly be a better person than you were before.
- Roman
Marcus Aurelius had a very complicated life and was a very important person. He was a Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a one-of-a-kind philosopher. He was the last of the rulers of the Five Good Emperors. Marcus Aurelius was also the last emperor of the Pax Romana, the Pax Romana was an age of peace and safety for the Romans which was from 27 BC to 180 AD. He didn't write about his experience of his life in Meditations he actually wrote about his morals and his perspective on how to live a fulfilling and productive life. Meditations was recorded by Marcus Aurelius in his private journal from AD 161 to 180 and was translated by Gregory Hays and published on the VIth of May in MMIII (2003). Gregory Hays is a professor of classics at the University of Konstanz in Germany and studies Greek and Latin palaeography and manuscript.
Meditations isn’t your typical nonfiction book; it's the thoughts and beliefs of Marcus Aurelius on how to live. There isn’t a plot, but there is a very strong theme and that theme is split into V main themes into XII books or chapters. Those V themes are change, death, and the shortness of life; the role and importance of the reasonable mind and will; coping with others and accepting their shortcomings; avoiding the need for pleasure and fame while understanding that you are a short speck in the universe and you don’t entirely matter by yourself like everything else; and living according to nature and fully accepting its plan for you in life. Meditations unlike most fiction books there is no plot, only Marcus Aurelius and you.
I would recommend this book to anyone in their late teens or older. If you're a young reader, then I suggest you wait until you are in your late teens and then read it because the book is written in an informal style of bullet points. The book is about his broken-up thoughts on how to live and the purpose of people. That's why there is so much in those bullet points and it will be hard to understand some of the more complicated and in-depth quotes. I haven’t grasped it entirely and will reread it several times to understand most of its content. I am adapting to the morals from the book every day. Many quotes have such a great impact on your life that if you read it too early you may not be able to take those quotes to heart. He talks about what to do when you won't get out of bed. “At dawn, when you are having trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work —as a human being.’ What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under blankets and stay warm.
-But it’s nicer here….
So you were born to feel ‘nice’? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants and birds doing their individual task as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being?
-But we have to sleep sometimes….
Agreed, but nature set a limit on that like drinking and eating and you’re over the limit” (53). There is so much meaning in those pages to extrapolate that if you read it when you’re younger then you will not get the full cognizance of it compared to when you're an adult. I would give this book a definite V out of V because of the life lessons that it has shown me.
Marcus Aurelius is very straightforward in the small note sections and gets straight to the point, but over the books, he repeats the point over and over in his parables to get the importance of the point across so that you can fully understand the meaning of what he is saying. Marcus Aurelius may seem very harsh, but he isn’t really. He is describing things as they are and how to deal with them if it's possible or not. “Everything that happens is either endurable or not. If it’s endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining. If it's unendurable… then stop complaining. Your destruction will mean its end as well” (132). He is talking about how you shouldn’t complain about all the things in life, they were already planned for you to endure and if you can’t endure it then that was planned as well.
The book of Meditations has helped me a lot in life like when I wake up I think about the first quote to motivate me out of bed and get on with school. I also use the book when I am having a difficult conversation with someone or get mad at them. I think that what happened was their responsibility and my responsibilities are to ignore it and focus on my own. As he says.
“Someone despises me.
That’s their problem.
Mine: not to do or say anything despicable.
Someone hates me. Their problem” (151). When you read Meditations take it to heart and you will undoubtedly be a better person than you were before.
- Roman
March 7, 2023
I’m not usually a connoisseur of ancient texts, but this book is an exception. Sometimes cryptic, sometimes brilliant, the sayings of Marcus Aurelius show a man trying his best to respond stoically to the challenges of his life and times. Hays introduction and comments provide helpful context for the modern reader. Stoicism is all about responding to events in a manner that is honorable, calm, and wise, even when one’s control over those events is limited. Aurelius’ pithy, sometimes lyrical sayings describe how to apply that approach in one’s life.
Because it contains a lifetime of wisdom, this is not a book to read cover to cover in a few sittings (despite the reporting requirements of Goodreads). Rather, it is a book to open daily for a few minutes, as though one were consulting an old friend or mentor once a day. Pondering the material slowly in this way allows its meaning to sink in. I appreciate Aurelius’ many “nuggets” of truth, and plan to continue doing so.
Because it contains a lifetime of wisdom, this is not a book to read cover to cover in a few sittings (despite the reporting requirements of Goodreads). Rather, it is a book to open daily for a few minutes, as though one were consulting an old friend or mentor once a day. Pondering the material slowly in this way allows its meaning to sink in. I appreciate Aurelius’ many “nuggets” of truth, and plan to continue doing so.
November 13, 2022
Gave this Gregory Hays translation a go after hearing Ryan Holiday recommend it on a podcast. Definitely the most approachable and easiest to read out of all the translations I’ve gone through. If ever an inkling to learn more about the Stoic mindset then this is good as any to start your journey. In addition to any Epictetus journals
June 26, 2024
I have no way of knowing how accurate this translation by Gregory Hays might be. Nevertheless, I am stunned by how many entries speak to my core beliefs while also enlightening me on how to inhabit my place in this connected world.
July 16, 2024
A modern day translation that does not read like a migraine -- impressive considering the entangled mess that is likely Marcus Aurelius' state of mind when writing Meditations. The translator also provides much needed context and perspectives, which made reading this book much more meaningful.
November 25, 2022
Sort of helpful but I just couldn't stay with it.
July 27, 2023
Thanks to Ryan Holiday for leading me to this translation. Took a few months to complete this tiny book. At least, now I realised how to read philosophy (kinda).
July 28, 2023
Good reminders for living a better life. Note: it’s really important to have the right translation (this one).
August 24, 2023
This is the comprehensive journal of a great leader, made digestible and clear, organized thoughtfully in a way that allows anybody to understand the wisdom that Stoic thought holds.
August 26, 2023
Everyone should read this book. The Hays translation with notes was great.
September 26, 2023
By far the best translation available. It stays true to the original text's meanings while also providing an accessible read for modern readers.
November 29, 2023
Gregory Hays does a great job with the translation of this 2,100 year old self help book. Interesting how the same problems and solutions exist today.
December 10, 2023
Useful, actionable guidance for living a life of meaning.
March 3, 2024
Very readable translation. It makes you feel like Aurelius was just a normal, pretty bright guy that you could talk to.
People were so much different from us millenia ago.
People were so much different from us millenia ago.
Read
August 15, 2024Excellent translation. Modern without trying to be hip.
August 11, 2024
Stat boost
+2 intellect
+3 willpower
+2 constitution
+1 spiritual
I'm going to ascend soon.. I can feel it.
Good little read. Fascinating mind.
+2 intellect
+3 willpower
+2 constitution
+1 spiritual
I'm going to ascend soon.. I can feel it.
Good little read. Fascinating mind.
July 15, 2024
Tenacious, honest, and helpful. Wise. Good.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews