The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

If you are on a quest for what a virtuous life means, this book will help you to find what you are looking for. It shows that his life was based on a solid basis of a Greek education and its "philosophy" in the widest sense.

Un libro che va letto, letto, letto e ri-letto centinaia di volte. Assolutamente non pesante (sono pensieri brevi indirizzati a se stesso, non prediche destinate ad altri). Se non sei il tipo di leggere sempre dall'inizio alla fine, si può anche aprire e leggere a caso. Quello che leggi oggi e non ti colpisce, domani sarà proprio quello che ci vuole per aiutarti. Se non sei religioso, sostituisci la parola "Dio" con qualcosa più consono al tuo pensiero ("Caso", "Energia", "Il Cosmo", ecc.) e tutto fila ancora. Indispensabile.

Certainly Marcus Aurelius Antonius is one of the great philosophers. Known as a "stoic", it might be better to look at him as a rather common-sensical person who has thought long and hard about the world and humans' place in it. This is a good book for reading just before going to bed. The tone is peaceful, quiet and lends itself very well to contemplation. If you have not read any of his material, this book is a good place to start.

Marcus Aurelius I give five stars as he is one of my favourite philosophers. However, the editing on this translation, I give three stars as it could have been edited better as there are some errors. So overall that averages to a four star review from me. My favourite quote from Marcus Aurelius and for that matter one of my favourite quotes of all time: "Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them." - Marcus Antoninus Aurelius

I enjoyed reading this marvelous English translation of the classic very much. I must admit, however, that sometimes his attitude (or words, rather) are too stoic that I had to stop reading and close the book. Highly admirable, yes, but didn't he go too far? I don't know about how other people think, and it may not be right to 'attack' this book, especially this one, but in my case there were some moments during turning over the pages that I found him 'pathetic.'(Please pardon the expression.) No wonder that he "committed suicide" before he reaches the early age of 59.

The book was in mint condition. The translation was perfect and well organized. The only thing that could have made this purchase better, is if the book itself was larger and the pages were stronger.