Meditations

Published July 25, 2021 by Lulu.

ISBN:
9781716062902

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (2 reviews)

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus who as a youth had been trained in Stoic and classical philosophy kept this personal log of his reflections and thoughts. It has remained read for centuries because of its plain-spoken and unpretentious style and its principles that extend far beyond the time of its writing, accessible even to the modern man without Aurelius's wide reading. These are the thoughts of a man both of uncommon greatness and uncommon meekness. For more reprinted classical and medieval works, see LindyPress.net.

47 editions

A book that transcends time

5 stars

It's difficult to review a book that has been read by many thousands or millions of people over the past two thousand years or so, including world leaders, philosophers and other academics, athletes, and everyday people who just want to live their best lives possible. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome (161-180), was never intended to be read by anyone other than its author. It is a collection of Aurelius' thoughts as they occurred to him, presumably over the course of his life. This book has no plot, no story arc, and no relatable characters, per se. Instead, it's a record of his daily journal that has been translated, interpreted, and transcribed repeatedly down through the ages. The individual entries have been compiled into 12 books, which are loosely arranged in chronological order; although there is some debate about that.

This book is remarkable for two important reasons. …

A Little Dense

2 stars

I'm well aware that books this old are going to be a little dense but I think the combination of this translation specifically and the medium of audiobooks doesn't combine well. It leaves you with a book that is too dense and continues at a pace that does not linger on words nor allow for any reflection of their meaning. I will make sure to return to Meditations again in the future but I may have to try another translation/version... I've heard the Penguin Classics one is rather good. That being said, for a free audiobook from Audible, this wasn't too bad at all and I'm always happy to receive a free read/listen.