(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)The CCLaP 100: In which I read for the first time a hundred so-called literary "classics," then write reports on whether or not they deserve the labelEssay #67: Meditations (160-180 AD), by Marcus AureliusThe story in a nutshell:Written essentially as a private journal from around 160 to 180 AD, by one of the better leaders in the history of the Roman Empire, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations (a title given to this manuscript almost randomly, in that Marcus never meant for it to be published) can be thought of along the lines of any great military strategist's memoirs, a combination of practical information, an explanation of their larger philosophy about life (Stoicism in Marcus' case), and official acknowledgement of all the mentors of their youth they owe their success to. A working soldier-emperor who was handpicked by the previous Caesar when he was just a child, the upper-class Marcus was subsequently put through the finest education that was humanly possible on the planet at that time, which is what makes his otherwise workaday journal so historically important; for by studying under the finest minds of his age, his surviving notes give us a rare look at what it was like to be a student of these masters, and what kinds of practical knowledge was actually being culled by these students when it came time for them to start their day jobs. Not really "literature" per se, nor even in any kind of coherent order, this should be read much more like one of those punchy advice books from famous corporate CEOs, full of bullet-point Twitter-like messages that can be quickly scanned and absorbed.The argument for it being a classic:As with most books this old, the main argument for this being a classic is its massive historical importance, a hugely informing snapshot of its times that is even more valuable for being private and therefore more candid. Plus, historians generally agree that this is perhaps the third or fourth most important book about Stoicism to survive those years; certainly not groundbreaking in its own right, but definitely an easy-to-follow primer on the subject (think "The Ancient Roman Idiot's Guide To…"), a philosophy which for those who don't know advocates a type of "living as one with nature" that is translated here as meaning a clean and minimalist lifestyle, one that largely avoids empty pleasures for the crippling vices they are. (After all, as Marcus reminds us, the only way your enemies can hurt you is by you yourself deliberately cultivating a weakness they can exploit; if you instead lead a virtuous life devoid of physical addictions and moral compromises, there's no way for these people to attack you for being weak or hypocritical.) And so by doing so, Marcus almost accidentally established a long and proud tradition of Stoicism among the military, the third main argument for why this is a classic, a "body is a temple" mindset that is still the main guiding force behind even such 21st-century military commanders as David Petraeus.The argument against:There seems to be two main arguments for why this should not be considered a classic, starting with the most obvious; that much like many of the books from this period being reviewed for this essay series, its age and outdated writing style simply makes it an awkward choice for everyday reading by a general audience, certainly historically important but with information that can now be found in modern books in a much more nuanced and contemporary way. And then there's the people who are simply in disagreement with the fundamentals of Stoicism itself, a sort of "philosophy for Republicans" that encourages a simplistic, joyless, black-and-white interpretation of the world, and which while not necessarily harsh unto itself is absolutely practiced in a harsh way by its most famous and vocal fans; for example, famed modern moral relativist Bertrand Russell thought that Stoicism was a big pile of hogwash, a "sour grapes" view of the world that argues that none of us will ever be happy, so we should pretend instead that "acting good" is just as important.My verdict:So setting aside the argument that a book should automatically be disqualified from being a classic simply because one doesn't personally agree with its philosophy (an argument I find inherently invalid no matter what the situation), otherwise I have to admit that I mostly side with Marcus' critics today; for while I found it interesting to flip through this light tome, or at least as interesting as one of those aforementioned bullet-point advice books from famous corporate executives, I also got tired of this manuscript rather quickly, and didn't really get much out of reading the original text that I didn't already get merely from its Wikipedia entry. (And also, I have to agree with several of the angry sentiments I found at Goodreads while researching this essay; that even though there are over 200 meditations here, it seems that Marcus really had no more than a dozen or so original thoughts, the rest of these text blasts essentially repeats of the same information over and over again.)In fact, now that I have recently reached the two-thirds point of finally being done with this CCLaP 100 series (four and a half years down! only two years to go!), I find myself once again reflecting on what the biggest surprises have been since starting these essays back in 2008; and certainly one of the most unexpected surprises of all is just how thoroughly and cleanly the entire idea of "literature" (and by this I mean "storytelling via book-length written tale") was single-handedly invented during the rise of Romanticism in the late 1700s, and how before this moment there were largely no book-length written stories at all (with a few exceptions, of course), most storytelling instead taking place via plays and formal poetry. I've always known that when these pre-1700s citizens wanted to "sit down with a good book," it was generally nonfiction they were picking up; but it wasn't until I started reading a fair sampling of this pre-1700s "literature" that I started profoundly realizing how little this work conforms to the modern definition of the word, and that the very concept never even existed until well after the Renaissance. Although it's been a valuable learning experience, it can be safely said that when it eventually comes time in another few years to compile the reading list for the "CCLaP 200," I will most likely be starting with 1719's Robinson Crusoe and exclusively making my way forward in time from there.Is it a classic? No(And don't forget that the first 33 essays in this series are now available in book form!)
Expect the worst, and you will never be disappointed. Hear now, Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome: “Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill will, and selfishness-- all of them due to the offender’s ignorance of what is good and evil. That people of a certain type should behave as they do is inevitable. To wish it otherwise were to wish the fig-tree would not yield its juice. Marcus Aurelius (A.D.121-181) ruled Rome during a time of great danger: famine; plague; flood; and barbarian invasion. Forsaking the comforts of his palace, Aurelius chose to share hardship with his soldiers living in tents in the field as together they held off the barbarians at the Danube. Marcus Aurelius is considered one of the few good Roman Emperors, and is best known to modern audiences from the movie “Gladiator,” in which he was played by Richard Harris. There is much I love about the philosopher-king, and I detect a generosity of spirit with this ancient. He understands that kindness to our fellow creatures is incumbent upon us and that we must school ourselves to be tolerant of their failings; make allowances for their ignorance; forgive their misdeeds; and help them in their need. While in his tent at night, Marcus Aurelius composed, pragmatic principles for wise living as they occurred to him. Those saying have been collected into “Meditations,” a manual for practical living rather than abstract truth. I share a selection of his thoughts. (I edited Maxwell Stanforth’s prim translation (1964), to make it more colloquial and gender-inclusive [if possible] for the modern reader.)Focus your action. “Resolve firmly, to act like a Roman-- with dignity, humanity, independence, and justice. Free your mind from all other considerations.”Don’t take anything personally. “Stop thinking that you have been wronged, and with it will go the feeling. Reject your sense of injury, and the injury itself disappears. Everything that happens is as normal and expected as the spring rose or the summer fruit; this is true of sickness, death, slander, intrigue, and all other things that delight or trouble foolish men.” Die with a Blessing on Your Lips. “Observe how transient and trivial is all mortal life; yesterday a drop of semen, tomorrow a handful of ashes. Spend, therefore, these fleeting moments on earth as Nature would have you spend them, and then go to your rest with a good grace, as an olive falls in its season, with a blessing for the earth that bore it and a thanksgiving to the tree that gave it life.”“When your end comes do not murmur, but meet it with a good grace and with gratitude in your heart to the gods. It is time now to realize the nature of the universe to which you belong and of that controlling Power whose offspring you are; and to understand that your time has a limit set to it. Use it, then, to advance your enlightenment; or it will be gone, and never in your power again.”“Happy is the soul which, at whatever moment the call comes for release from the body, is equally ready to face extinction or survival.”Accept Yourself“You will never be remarkable for quick-wittedness. So what? There are still a host of other qualities to cultivate that are within your power: sincerity, dignity, industriousness, and sobriety. Carry yourself with authority. See how many qualities there are which could be yours at this moment.”Accept Life’s Misfortune“Is your cucumber bitter? Throw it away. Are there briars in your path? Turn aside. That is enough. Do not ask, “Why were things of this sort ever brought into the world?” The student of nature will only laugh at you; just as a carpenter or a shoemaker would laugh, if you found fault with the shavings and scraps from their work which you saw in the shop.”“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your attitude toward it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”Change Happens“Among the truths you will do well to remember: first, external things can never touch the soul, but stand inert outside it, so that disquiet can arise only from fancies within; and secondly, that all visible objects change in a moment, and will be no more. The whole universe is change, and life itself is but what you deem it.”My ConclusionWith my mother’s milk, I suckled the credo: “Duty; Honor; Country.” In my formative years, the philosophy of the stoics (Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca) appealed to me and helped me to find the courage and strength I needed for the metaphoric battlefields of life. Two currents run side-by-side in ancient philosophy: one naturalistic (atoms, Democritus, Epicurus and Lucretius), the other mystical (god, Plato, Plotinus, and St. Paul). My favorite philosophers were the ones (Socrates, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius) who merge these two currents in an attempt to do justice to the unformulable complexity of life. Yet, even as I have appreciated what I perceived as a balance in Marcus Aurelius, I now acknowledge that one must not take stoic philosophy too literally. Indeed, balance requires leaving a little room for the happiness in Epicureanism, properly understood. It is a false choice to say, “I must choose between either stoicism or hedonism.” The work of a life-time is obtaining Aristotle’s middle way.. I have also learned that, contrary to Aurelius, we should not always expect the worst from people, rather it is sometimes better to expect the best, as people often conform to our expectations of them. Indeed, tactics are situational, and it is a fool who memorizes a few simple slogans and proceeds to employ them in all circumstances. But, nonetheless, those simple precepts are worth learning because they are often accurate.Although I think this book can help those with anxiety, I do not recommend this book for people who beat themselves up in a never-ending war with themselves. They must learn gentleness with themselves not stoicism, but I do recommend this book for people needing a dose of stern reality—perhaps those who think that they are helpless, or who think that nothing is ever their fault, or who crumble at the first sign of difficulty. Use this book. “Use it to advance your enlightenment, or life will be gone and never in your power again.”February 22, 2013Steve’s Stoic Reviews:Epictetus Discourses (The Slave)http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...Seneca Letters (Nero’s Suicide)http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...Marcus Aurelius Meditations (The Emperor)http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
What do You think about Meditations (2006)?
Bury me with this book. Written in AD 121 to 180 this book is a collection of thoughts, short essays and quotes. Almost 2000 years old, the words of Marcus Aurelius echo through to this day.From book 5, 22 - This reminded me of Hurricane Catrina and our failure in New Orleans."What is not harmful to the city, cannot harm the citizen. In every fancied case of harm, apply the rule, 'If the city is not harmed, I am not harmed either.' But if the city should indeed be harmed, never rage at the culprit: rather, find out at what point his vision failed him."another favorite from book 5, 16"...a soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts."
—J4
من ليبيا ، ومن أمام موج البحر المتلاطم على شواطيء السرايا الحمراء في مدينة طرابلس القديمة، وتحديداً من تحت سقف قوس ماركوس أوريليوس الروماني القديم ،قام اعضاء نادي الكتاب والثقافة بجامعة طرابلس مناقشة كتاب الامبراطور الروماني "التاملات " تحت اهم معلم يخلد ذكري ماركوس...في البداية تم نقاش تاريخ القوس بصفة خاصة واهم معالمه ونقاش النقوش الموجودة فيه عبر العصور ، من رسوم الالهة الي الخربشات ونقوشات الاسبان وحتي العرب منذ الفتح قديما ...! ثم مناقشة الكتاب في القنصلية الانجليزية القديمة (دار النويجي ) في البداية ...ان ماركوس اوريليوس ، فاته ان يكونَ نبٍياً . أن هذه الأفكارالموجودة في جاءت من أقوى رجل في العالم ، وهو الرجل الذي يتجاوز ذلك إلى حد كبير على قوة الشخصية من أي زعيم حالي أن لدينا صعوبة في فهم مصدر قوته الشخصية، هل من الحكمة او من شئ اخر .. أوريليوس يكتب باستمرار أن القوة تأتي من التواضع، و ضبط النفس و روح الدعابة تجاه الآخرين . انه يعلمنا لقبول ما لا نستطيع السيطرة عليها و الوثوق ما نعرفالفيلسوف الرواقي ، و الإمبراطور الروماني 161-180لماذا هو امبراطور مختلف عن نيرون ، كلوديوس ، كاليغولا ، والخ ..لماذا هو من افضل الاباطرة الخمسة . اعتقد ان الاجابة موجودة في المقدمة الكتاب عن تعليمه .إنني أرى هذا العمل باعتباره مصدرا قيما ، بعد كل شيء ، من صعوبة معرفة افكار الخاصة للفرد ، ناهيك عن واحد من الأباطرة الرومان أكثر نجاحا. أحيانا لا تشعر انه عمل من الإمبراطور الروماني.ولاتشعر على انها مكتوبة في منتصف المعركة و وسط حضور الحضور والموت ، والخ ، في اغلب الأحيان تشعر انها مزيج من التأمل الفلسفي والنصائح العملية في تأملات ، يجد المرء رفيق صريح . صديق من المدرسة رواقية ، ولكن حميم و عاقل تماما. ثم ان مبادئه لا يلتزم بها سوى عدد قليل ، .تذكر أن الإنسان يعيش فقط في الوقت الحاضر، في هذه اللحظة عابرة ؛ كل ما تبقى من حياته إما الماضي و ذهب، أو لم يتم الكشف حتى الآن.هذا هو الكتاب سوف يبقي بيعاد قرائته ..!
—Tariq Alferis
Marcus gives us wise advice about using the Internet, particularly social networking sites:“...because most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you'll have more time and more tranquillity. Ask yourself at every moment, is this necessary…”He shares his opinions on the worst types of modern professional. He does not approve of lobbyists and is rightly worried about their influence on the legislative process. We should heed his words:“...so long as the law is safe, so is the city and the citizen…”.He has harsh things to say about public relations executives;“...to say what you don't think - the definition of absurdity…”.He understands the modern office dynamic, reminding himself:“...Not to be constantly telling people that I am too busy, unless I really am. Similarly, not to be always ducking my responsibilities to the people around me because of "pressing business"..."Marcus has advice for politicians, which it is clear from this book he thinks are untrustworthy, illogical and prone to anger. He condemns unreservedly all their faults and the problems with the modern electoral system:“...it makes you betray a trust, or lose your sense of shame, or make you show hatred, suspicion, ill will, or hypocrisy, or a desire for things best done behind closed doors. “...A desire for things best done behind closed doors…” - Marcus is spot on in identifying a lack of democratic accountability, fostered by the CIA, NSA, GCHQ and the rest of the security paraphernalia, as being at the root of many of our current political problems.In the UK there is a tradition for politicians, or at least for the posher type of politician, to study “PPE” or “Politics, Philosophy and Economics” at either Oxford or Cambridge University. But despite such an expensive education our political masters don't have half the grasp on the classics that Marcus has, which is remarkable considering he was home-schooled. I wish Marcus would consider a career in politics just to show up our current representatives for the intellectual pygmies that they really are. Marcus also gives us advice on a more personal level. I don’t know much about his background but I can be sure he is the father of teenage children! Can he really keep his temper?“...they are drawn toward what they think is good for them, but if it is not good for them then prove it to them instead of losing your temper…”Unlike other self-help writers he doesn’t flinch at reminding us about our own mortality:“...Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what's left and live it properly…” We should remember:“...not to live as if you had endless years in front of you. Death overshadows you. While you're alive and able, be good…”and also“...how much more damage anger and grief do than the things that cause them…”How refreshing if more authors of self help books would confront squarely the central issue of our own mortality and our negative emotions of anger or frustration instead of forever hiding from these topics.So to end with my favorite paragraph, from book 10 paragraph 5. One for physicists as well as philosophers to puzzle over:“...whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time. The twining strands of fate wove both of them together: your own existence and the things that happen to you. ..”I don’t normally read self help books. Often they seem full of cliches left over from the Victorian era. And in this book, which may have been modeled on the writings of Alain De Botton, Marcus mixes in a lot of philosophy and this just isn’t to everyone’s taste.But with this short work Marcus, who is Italian, and his co-author Gregory Hays have brought the format right up to date by reflecting squarely on the types of issues that we all face today.A great book by an author who - and this is no exaggeration - deserves a statue to be put up for him. I can only wish I could meet Marcus one day. In fact I’ll be checking out if he has any book signings lined up. If he has a decent agent I’m sure he has.
—Maru Kun
