Meditations

About the book

Marcus Aurelius addresses himself in notes that return to anger, duty, mortality, other people's conduct, and the limits of personal control. The entries vary in length and repeatedly revisit similar concerns, giving the work the character of ongoing practice rather than a finished argument arranged for an audience. Its author tries to distinguish what happens from the judgments added to it, while reminding himself of his responsibilities within a larger human community. Images of change and brevity give ordinary irritations a wider scale. The book can be read a few passages at a time, allowing repetitions to reveal the persistence of the difficulties being addressed. Its interest lies partly in the gap between knowing a principle and repeatedly needing to recall it.

• Self-command
• Duty
• Mortality

Why read it

For the directness of a thinker working on his own habits rather than merely explaining principles to others.

English translation