Gabrielle's Reviews > Meditations

Marcus Aurelius was a Stoic, a philosophy that is all about accepting the present moment as it is, and not letting the struggle to get away from pain and to acquire pleasure dictate our lives. This philosophy has always appealed to me, and obviously there are many similarities with Zen Buddhism to be found in Stoicism. This little book is the equivalent of a little diary one would keep on their nightstand, where they would scribble thoughts that they want to remind themselves of, and as the title implies, insight gained from looking deep into oneself.

While it can get a bit repetitive sometimes, and can, at times, feel like ideas we’ve heard a million times before, there is something profoundly soothing and inspiring in Marcus Aurelius’ little maxims: they are a refreshing reminder that leading a life of simplicity and compassion can be a much more rewarding life than one based on greed and superficial, fleeting satisfactions. If it feels oddly familiar, it’s probably because people have been quoting Marcus Aurelius for hundreds of years!

He wrote most of these late in his life, and there are plenty of reflections on death in these pages: that is certainly explained in part by how old he was when he took up the pen, but it was also an important part of Stoic philosophy, to be aware that life is finite, and that we should therefore learn to be satisfied with how it is right now, as it could be gone tomorrow.

When you consider the tone of the thoughts collected in “Meditations”, it can be surprising to remember that they were written down by the most powerful man of the Western world. Would powerful men today write so earnestly about dignity, thoughtfulness, modesty and honesty? Would they encourage people to truly look at themselves and give up caring about the things that are outside of our control? I don’t know. But Marcus was very aware of his humanity, and therefore, that even if he was the Emperor, he was fundamentally not all that different from other people.

Just like when I read Cicero last year (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), I finished this book wishing this was still a mandatory text: it's not perfect, but there is some important wisdom in here, and I wish more people were exposed to this kind of writing. And it is still incredibly relevant, and applicable to many daily life situations.

A very good book to start the new year (and decade!) with.


"If someone can prove me wrong and show me my mistake in any thought or action, I shall gladly change. I seek the truth, which never harmed anyone: the harm is to persist in one's own self-deception and ignorance."

"Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretense."