---
product_id: 1210868
title: "Meditations (Penguin Classics)"
price: "€ 18.42"
currency: EUR
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reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.it/products/1210868-meditations-penguin-classics
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---

# Classic timeless wisdom Same-day dispatch before noon No-quibble returns Meditations (Penguin Classics)

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## Summary

> 📖 Unlock Ancient Wisdom, Own the Moment

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## Key Features

- • **Highly Acclaimed:** Join over 11,000 readers who rated it 4.8 stars—because great minds read great classics.
- • **Timeless Insight:** Access nearly 2000 years of leadership and philosophy distilled into a compact, elegant volume.
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## Overview

Meditations (Penguin Classics) offers a pristine, compact edition of Marcus Aurelius' personal diary, delivering nearly 2000 years of Stoic philosophy. With same-day dispatch and hassle-free returns, this highly rated classic empowers modern professionals to gain timeless clarity and leadership insight in a sleek, durable format.

## Description

Meditations (Penguin Classics) [Marcus Aurelius, Martin Hammond] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Meditations (Penguin Classics)

Review: Almost 2000 Years Old and Eerily Accurate to Todays World - Synopsis: This is a book that everyone needs to read. This is the personal diary of the most important man in the Roman empire at the time it was written. This is the equivalent of being able to read the personal diary of todays world leaders, or top CEO's and understand their motivations and philosophies. This book does not take long to read, and you can plow through it in about a week with roughly 30 minutes of reading each day. Due to Marcus' philosophy, he does not use pretentious language, so the book is consumable by a wide audience. Overall, this book is certainly worth the read and it will change how you look at the world, yourself and your actions. The Book: Marcus was born in 121 AD and died in 180 AD, making his writings ~1,800 years old at the time of this review. Mediate on that for a bit...you're reading the personal diary from a Roman emperor who died almost 2000 years ago. We are incredibly privileged to be able to read such a historical masterpiece. The introduction from the translator is quite long, to the degree that I skipped it as he was consistently making references to the text, of which, I had not read yet. Mediations makes up the minority of the pages, with the majority being the introduction, then the rest being explanations of each verse. The explanations can be helpful in explaining the historical context. Here's a few heavily summarized topics discussed in the book as a preview: On Perception: Marcus made it his mission to look at the world objectively and for what it truly is, free of personal opinion or emotion. As long as what you were experiencing was within the bounds of what could be expected within the life of a human, it was your perception that made it pleasurable or painful. You could then change your perception on the issue and improve your life. On Religion: Despite being polytheistic, his philosophy on nature centers heavily on a type of worship of Gaia, coming very close to exalting her above Zeus. This is a very fine line he dances, always placing his trust in the Gods who had his best interest at heart, but also blending his knowledge of the natural world. Another peculiarity is that he frequently uses God in the singular form. On Nature: Nature has everyone and everything performing a specific task which contributes to the whole. To determine if something is good or bad, Marcus asks himself if it would harm the wider society. To illustrate, here is a quote from Marcus, "That which is not good for the beehive cannot be good for bees". On Time: Close to the end of the book, and to Marcus' death, he begins to reflect on his time spent on the earth. Marcus discusses how events repeat themselves and that 40 years of studying the natural world is enough. This is an extremely profound realization, since the reader can draw many parallels from his life, to our modern lives. He makes the bold claim that things never change, and time has proved him right. Marcus eventually died at 58 years of age.
Review: Daily Dose of Clarity - This is a review for the hardcopy Penguin Classics translated by Martin Hammond. Please note that many of the reviews seem to be for a kindle version that is a different translation. Such a joy to read. Since Marcus Aurelius was writing for himself and only himself, there is an honesty and intimacy in the words -- as if his nobler self were writing reminders knowing he would need them during his weaker moments (including, literally, when he didn't feel like getting up in the morning). Some of the reviews here criticize the translation but I've really enjoyed it -- it is clear, unpretentious and unadorned, well suited to the philosophy it conveys -- and because the language is contemporary it sounds, to my ears, almost timeless so that, in its best moments, it sounds like words of wisdom for any age and not merely words reflecting the concerns of a man who lived 1900 years ago. The book itself is also attractive -- compact and sturdy with a pleasant font. The print, however, is small (probably around an 8 pt font).

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,256 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #5 in Ancient Greek & Roman Philosophy #7 in Philosophy of Ethics & Morality #75 in Classic Literature & Fiction |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (11,033) |
| Dimensions  | 5 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches |
| ISBN-10  | 0140449337 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0140449334 |
| Item Weight  | 7.9 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 304 pages |
| Publication date  | October 31, 2006 |
| Publisher  | Penguin Classics |

## Images

![Meditations (Penguin Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81DFDGzHZqL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Almost 2000 Years Old and Eerily Accurate to Todays World
*by C***S on October 15, 2023*

Synopsis: This is a book that everyone needs to read. This is the personal diary of the most important man in the Roman empire at the time it was written. This is the equivalent of being able to read the personal diary of todays world leaders, or top CEO's and understand their motivations and philosophies. This book does not take long to read, and you can plow through it in about a week with roughly 30 minutes of reading each day. Due to Marcus' philosophy, he does not use pretentious language, so the book is consumable by a wide audience. Overall, this book is certainly worth the read and it will change how you look at the world, yourself and your actions. The Book: Marcus was born in 121 AD and died in 180 AD, making his writings ~1,800 years old at the time of this review. Mediate on that for a bit...you're reading the personal diary from a Roman emperor who died almost 2000 years ago. We are incredibly privileged to be able to read such a historical masterpiece. The introduction from the translator is quite long, to the degree that I skipped it as he was consistently making references to the text, of which, I had not read yet. Mediations makes up the minority of the pages, with the majority being the introduction, then the rest being explanations of each verse. The explanations can be helpful in explaining the historical context. Here's a few heavily summarized topics discussed in the book as a preview: On Perception: Marcus made it his mission to look at the world objectively and for what it truly is, free of personal opinion or emotion. As long as what you were experiencing was within the bounds of what could be expected within the life of a human, it was your perception that made it pleasurable or painful. You could then change your perception on the issue and improve your life. On Religion: Despite being polytheistic, his philosophy on nature centers heavily on a type of worship of Gaia, coming very close to exalting her above Zeus. This is a very fine line he dances, always placing his trust in the Gods who had his best interest at heart, but also blending his knowledge of the natural world. Another peculiarity is that he frequently uses God in the singular form. On Nature: Nature has everyone and everything performing a specific task which contributes to the whole. To determine if something is good or bad, Marcus asks himself if it would harm the wider society. To illustrate, here is a quote from Marcus, "That which is not good for the beehive cannot be good for bees". On Time: Close to the end of the book, and to Marcus' death, he begins to reflect on his time spent on the earth. Marcus discusses how events repeat themselves and that 40 years of studying the natural world is enough. This is an extremely profound realization, since the reader can draw many parallels from his life, to our modern lives. He makes the bold claim that things never change, and time has proved him right. Marcus eventually died at 58 years of age.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Daily Dose of Clarity
*by K***W on November 14, 2020*

This is a review for the hardcopy Penguin Classics translated by Martin Hammond. Please note that many of the reviews seem to be for a kindle version that is a different translation. Such a joy to read. Since Marcus Aurelius was writing for himself and only himself, there is an honesty and intimacy in the words -- as if his nobler self were writing reminders knowing he would need them during his weaker moments (including, literally, when he didn't feel like getting up in the morning). Some of the reviews here criticize the translation but I've really enjoyed it -- it is clear, unpretentious and unadorned, well suited to the philosophy it conveys -- and because the language is contemporary it sounds, to my ears, almost timeless so that, in its best moments, it sounds like words of wisdom for any age and not merely words reflecting the concerns of a man who lived 1900 years ago. The book itself is also attractive -- compact and sturdy with a pleasant font. The print, however, is small (probably around an 8 pt font).

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Some thoughts on translations and on Marcus Aurelius.
*by G***R on July 27, 2009*

What makes Meditations an important book is that it provides the opportunity to discuss what it is to be human, to have a soul, to live a good life with one of the most remarkable men in history. Before I get to that I want to second a suggestion made by several reviewers. Use two or more translations when you read the Meditations. I like this Penguin Classics edition. The introduction by Diskin Clay is useful, the translation by Martin Hammond is mostly accurate and his explanatory notes are very useful. There are some solid suggestions for further reading and several useful indices (of Names, of Quotations, and a General Index). My one qualm about the translation is that Hammond sometimes makes the book sound a little Christian. Hammond will use "sin" where other translators (like Farquharson or Frances Hutchinson) would use "impiety" or "harm". This is decidedly not a Christian text. There is nothing in Marcus Aurelius (MA) of final judgment. There is no reward or punishment for our actions in this life. MA suspends judgments on all sorts of issues. It is clear that he believes in gods and occasionally talks about God (see 12.2). But he also mentions many times the alternative belief that all is chance and that death will be followed by oblivion. It is essential to his ethics however that death is not followed by any sort of hell. Also worth thinking about is whether MA is a man whose philosophy is to be rejected (or, at least, radically modified) because it ultimately makes one less human. With MA, everything is to be thought through with the corrosive that is reason. We must not let our attachments cause us to lose sight of the truth. We may kiss our children good night but we must remind ourselves as we are doing so that they could be dead tomorrow (11.34 in Meditations- this bit of choice advice came from Epictetus)! One point about this is that there is a real conflict in MA with his idea that we should accept everything that the gods see fit to visit upon us (an idea expressed too many times to quote a single source) and his desire to not be effected by any of it. I would argue that true acceptance does not seek invulnerability. True confront embraces vulnerability and fully accepts the whole of our humanity. We have a choice about how we respond to our suffering. MA, at his best, is saying that and pointing out that we can not let our suffering control our actions. At his worst, he sometimes seems to be saying that we can chose not to feel our suffering. He is such a compelling writer that I think it is all too easy to read MA in a way that avoids how radical are some of his ideas. The desire of MA for some sort of emotional invulnerability is part and parcel of his rejection of quotidian experience. He does not seem to have liked or admired many of his contemporaries and he does not seem fond of the simple pleasures of life. His descriptions of sexuality are always mingled with tones of disgust. Where the Meditations may be most useful is when we are dealing with some sort of very extreme situation. There are two Naval Academy essays by John Stockdale about how he survived his imprisonment during the Vietnam War using the philosophy of Epictetus that delve into the full complexity of that philosophy. (These essays are referenced in the intro to the Penguin edition of Epictetus' writings. You can use the Amazon preview of that book to see the reference.) Does all this mean that I think you should not immediately run out and buy a copy of this book? NO, NO, a thousand times, NO. The Meditations is one of those few books that everyone should read for help in working out their own philosophy. We all have to come to grips with how we want to live our own lives, what values we want to honor and MA is one of the writers who will help you work that out. He belongs in the company of St. Augustine, of Montaigne, of Machiavelli, of Plato, and of the Buddha (among many others- this list is mine own). So, yes, read MA in the Hammond translation by all means. Remember that he wrote this book so that he would have constant and personal reminders to live up to his own philosophy. By reading this book, you may come to some understanding of what it would be like to live up to your own philosophy.

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