The private notebook of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, twelve books of short Stoic reminders to himself, in Meric Casaubon's 1634 English translation from Project Gutenberg.
Worth reading in small doses. The ideas are practical and the voice is honest, but the same few moves repeat in every book and the old English slows you down. A newer translation may help. Four out of five (draft).
Every guide comes as a video and a full written article. Pick the one you need: the review is spoiler-free, the ending explained is not.
A Meditations summary of Marcus Aurelius's twelve books: Book One's thank-you list, five Stoic ideas with the book and section for each, and word counts from the text. No spoilers, because there is no plot.
Is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius worth reading? An honest review: what it is, what works, what doesn't, the old-English translation problem, how to read it, who it is for, and my score. No spoilers.
Meditations is the private notebook of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, written to himself in twelve books of short numbered sections. We used the Project Gutenberg text, ebook #2680, Meric Casaubon’s English translation of 1634, released on Gutenberg on June 1, 2001. It adds an introduction, an appendix of letters with Marcus’s teacher Fronto, notes and a glossary.
Below you’ll find a summary of the books and the five ideas he keeps returning to, a review of who should read it, and counts from the text, such as how often nature and death appear. There is no plot, so there are no spoilers.
Worth reading in small doses. The ideas are practical and the voice is honest, but the same few moves repeat in every book and the old English slows you down. A newer translation may help. Four out of five (draft). Read it if: you like short, quotable ideas you can try the same day; you are curious about stoicism and how an emperor used it; you want to read a real private notebook, not a lecture. Skip it if: you want a plot or a step-by-step system; old english (thou, thyself) will wear you out and you will not swap the translation; repetition drives you up the wall. Meditations Review: Worth Reading? Who Should Read It →
A Meditations summary of Marcus Aurelius's twelve books: Book One's thank-you list, five Stoic ideas with the book and section for each, and word counts from the text. No spoilers, because there is no plot. Meditations Summary: Five Big Ideas by Marcus Aurelius →
Meditations is the private notebook of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, written to himself. It has twelve books of short numbered sections on handling opinion, death, duty to others and obstacles, drawn from Stoic philosophy. There is no plot.
By the ebook's introduction, he was born on April 26, A.D. 121, trained in Stoic philosophy, adopted by the emperor Antoninus Pius, and became emperor in 161. He spent much of his reign on military campaigns and died on March 17, 180, in Pannonia.
The introduction in the Project Gutenberg edition argues he did not expect anyone else to read it. It calls the book the innermost thoughts of his heart, written to ease it and to help him bear his duties.
By our count the twelve books run about 57,000 words, split into more than 400 short numbered sections. There are no chapters with a storyline, so you can read a section at a time in any order.
The Project Gutenberg ebook number 2680, Meric Casaubon's English translation of 1634, which uses thou and thyself. The ebook's notes say it is often more a paraphrase than a close translation, and its introduction lists eight English translations from 1634 to 1906.
