Steph De Mel's Reviews > Meditations: With Selected Correspondence

This is a book to read, and digest, slowly. I have enjoyed reading a few paragraphs or pages each night, and allowing Marcus Aurelius' observations and ideas to percolate in my mind throughout the following day. Many aspects of the Stoic philosophy he advocates in this short collection of writings are appealing.

I am particularly drawn to the notion that the lives of all individuals are mutually intertwined and, thus, that a crucial feature of a "good" life is to consider, and improve upon, the ways in which one interacts with others. Relatedly, the idea that the universe may be thought of as a "single living being, comprised of a single substance and a single soul" is interesting and thought-provoking; it seems to mirror the biblical phrase from Ecclesiastes that describes living beings as having "all one breath".

This does not, however, mean that I admire Aurelius' philosophy unreservedly. For instance, his glorification of suicide is quite disturbing, particularly to a contemporary audience. Equally, his adjuration to be done with "your thirst for books...so that you may not die with complaints on your lips" is likely to rile any bibliophile or philomath.

Nonetheless, there is much wisdom to be gleaned from this short text, and I certainly will return to these pages more than once in pursuit of it.