Meditations - Book Review #3

Meditations

By Marcus Aurelius

Translated by Gregory Hayes

Published in 2002

At the peak of his empire, Marcus Aurelius was perhaps the most powerful man in the world. While on conquest with his Roman legions in central Europe (171-175 A.D.), he kept a journal. That journal would later come to be known as Meditations. It was never intended for publication.

This book has been appreciated by great minds throughout history such as Michel de Montaigne, Napoleon, Arthur Schopenhauer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Jefferson, Churchill, and now you.

What I Found Interesting 

If anyone could get away being a scoundrel, it would be the world’s most powerful man. History is plum full with examples of this. Even today, look at your spineless milksops of politicians whose fingers are frozen in a position pointing in any direction but towards themselves. 

Once you reach the top, your priority becomes preserving your power. Admitting you are wrong, taking accountability, or acting with integrity could jeopardize your position. As the saying goes: “Power corrupts”.

Yet, here we have an example of a man, who despite his massive influence, fought to pursue the virtuous path. This point is worth stressing, he could’ve gotten away with anything that the worst of his imagination could conjure and no one would’ve blinked an eye. 

A small example of this was his treatment of his dissolute wife, Faustina the Younger. She was accused on multiple accounts of infidelity. Most infamously, with a gladiator, but there were also instances with sailors and senators. She even entered a relationship with Lucius Verus, who despite being married to her daughter, he submitted to.

The emperor could’ve easily had her fed to the lions. Boiled the lovers in front of her and then fed her to the lions. He was actually advised to make her bathe in the blood of her favorite lover, the gladiator.

Instead, he chose to dedicate temples to her and molded a coin in her image after she died. He even gives her a shoutout in the beginning of Meditations.

I’m not saying he’s a saint. We can rather surely assume he wasn’t. Who knows how many innocent people he killed during his conquests. Remember, he was also ruling at the time when the Roman Empire was still persecuting Christians. 

Nevertheless, that dichotomy makes Meditations even more relatable. Aren’t we all good people with bad tendencies?

At least he tried. And from his journal entries, it looks like he tried pretty damn hard.

Favorite Quotes

“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.”

Note: Faustina read that with scorn.

"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”

“Or is it your reputation that's bothering you? But look at how soon we're all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that swallows it all. The emptiness of all those applauding hands.”

"It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.”

Note: If this resonates with you, I wrote a little more about it here.

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work–as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I'm going to do what I was born for–the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?"

–But it's nicer here...

So you were born to feel "nice"? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don't you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you're not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren't you running to do what your nature demands?

–But we have to sleep sometime.

Agreed. But nature set a limit on that-as it did on eating and drinking, And you're over the limit. You've had more than enough of that. But not of working. There you're still below your quota.”

Note: My favorite passage from the whole book.

Final Thoughts

Stoicism has its shortcomings. Mainly, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for the human experience of color and creativity. That is to say, it’s a very squared philosophy, which is precisely what makes it attractive to philosopher kings and laymen alike. 

The teachings in Meditations are nearly 2,000 years old and still hold practical value. That is the mark of value.

Save yourself from the modern day, self-help, mumbo-jumbo books authored by some guy who spent two weeks with Tibetan monks and is promising you the key to happiness.

Cut the fluff. Improve. Move towards the goals that will still be important to you on your deathbed. The clock is ticking.

“Stop drifting. You're not going to re-read your Brief Comments, your Deeds of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, the commonplace books you saved for your old age. Sprint for the finish Write off your hopes, and if your well-being matters to you, be your own savior while you can.”

–Marcus Aurelius

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