I accessed several translations of this work during my
recent reading of it. I read the Gregory Hays Translation from cover to cover.
The below quotes are from that translation.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a
work that has been renowned for centuries. The book consists of the philosophical
musings of the famous Roman emperor.
I am no expert on ancient philosophy. However, several sources, including
Gregory Hays’s introduction to his translation, indicate that Aurelius draw from the ideas of multiple schools of
philosophy, but borrowed primarily from the Stoic school when creating this
work.
The philosophy in this work is not complex. Most of the text is a straightforward
and insightful exposition of Aurelius’s version of the Stoic thought system.
The author lays out certain basic precepts for a fulfilling life. First, he
urges that one view and assess the world as rationally and unbiased as
possible. Next, he consoles the reader not to allow painful events, life’s troubles
or malicious people, to push one’s mind into the realm of negative emotions
such as anger, resentment or sadness. He urges the reader to act and think
rationally and ethically, no matter what external events bring. The reader is
advised to control what he or she can control and not worry unduly about that
which he or she cannot. The author
explains that a godlike force is guiding the Universe and all events are
leading to a universal form of good. Thus, it makes no sense to lament or
complain about so called “bad things.”
He writes,
“Joy for humans
lies in human actions. Human actions: kindness to others, contempt for the
senses, the interrogation of appearances, observation of nature and of events
in nature. “
There is a sense of fatalism inherent this work. Aurelius repeatedly reminds
us that everyone must die,
“Augustus’s
court: his wife, his daughter, his grandsons, his stepsons, his sister,
Agrippa, the relatives, servants, friends, Areius, Maecenas, the doctors, the
sacrificial priests … the whole court,
dead. “
Since death is inevitable and a natural part of change, Aurelius argues
that it only makes sense to peacefully accept the end of life.
One question that arises when reading this work for me: does it really rise
to the level of greatness in line with the acclaim that it has received over
the centuries? As I alluded to above, my
understanding is that the philosophical elements within this work are not
original. In his introduction to the his translation, Gregory Hays writes
“it contains
little or nothing that is original. It suggests not a mind recording new
perceptions or experimenting with new arguments, but one obsessively repeating
and reframing ideas long familiar but imperfectly absorbed. “
At times, the writing seems to be profound. At other times, it seems almost
to be string of platitudes.
Can what is essentially a summary of a certain philosophic school be
considered essential or a great work?
At the very least, due to its influence, this is an important historical and
cultural book. Furthermore, the
writing is always interesting. More so, it is often a joy to read.
There is something else that began to dawn upon me as I read this work. It
seems extraordinarily modern. Marcus Aurelius’
advocacy of finding an inner calm, of keeping one’s mind, as well as one’s values,
separate from the outside world, as well as many other insights at times sound
like something out a modern self-help book, but perhaps the greatest self-help
book ever written. At least in regards to how he presents his message, it seems
that the ancient emperor still has something to say that is very relevant to
our modern times.
