Meditations

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Gateway Editions, 1956 - Philosophy - 205 pages
"Written in the form of confessions, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius express with great beauty and tenderness the essence of Stoic philosophy. The Stoic, whose life is one of passive, meditative searching for God's truth in nature, feels that God is, ever present, and thus looks on everything and all men as his equals. Marcus Aurelius states that the Stoic lives as if upon a mountain, superior to vanities and expecting very little from his fellow men, but helping and sympathizing with them. We are made for cooperation, like the hands, like the feet. The Stoic does not rail at misfortune, for that would be to criticize God's handiwork. Nor does he seek gratification of ambition, but rather performance of duty, and his end is not happiness, but virtuous tranquility. The Enchiridion (Manual) of Epictetus, included in this volume, exercised a profound influence on the thought of Marcus Aurelius"--Back cover

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About the author (1956)

Born in Rome, in 121, Marcus Aurelius was one of the most respected emperors in Roman history. When he was 17, Aurelius was adopted by emperor Antonius Pius and succeeded him in A.D. 161. He ruled jointly with his adoptive brother, Lucius Verus, until 169, when he became sole emperor after Verus died. Although Aurelius was a humanitarian ruler, he accepted the view that Christians were the enemies of Rome. Aurelius was dovoted to the Stoic philosophy. Meditations, his spiritual reflections, is considered a classic work of stoicism. Written in Greek, the work comprises of twelve books and records his innermost thoughts. Meditations is his only surviving work. Aurelius died in 180 while prosecuting war against the Marcomanni who lived along the northern limits of the Roman Empire. After his death Aurelius was idealized as the perfect emperor whose reign contrasted sharply with the disastrous period before him and the reigns that followed.

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