The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations [Hardcover]

Marcus Aurelius (Author), David Hicks (Translator), C. Scot Hicks (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 2002

BEAR IN MIND THAT THE

MEASURE OF A MAN IS THE WORTH OF THE THINGS HE CARES ABOUT.

IF IT IS GOOD TO SAY OR DO

SOMETHING, THEN IT IS

EVEN BETTER TO BE CRITICIZED FOR

HAVING SAID OR DONE IT.

ARE MY GUIDING PRINCIPLES

HEALTHY AND ROBUST? ON THIS HANGS EVERYTHING.

Essayist Matthew Arnold described the man who wrote these words as "the most beautiful figure in history." Possibly so, but he was certainly more than that. Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire at its height, yet he remained untainted by the incalculable wealth and absolute power that had corrupted many of his predecessors. Marcus knew the secret of how to live the good life amid trying and often catastrophic circumstances, of how to find happiness and peace when surrounded by misery and turmoil, and of how to choose the harder right over the easier wrong without apparent regard for self-interest.

The historian Michael Grant praises Marcus's book as "the best ever written by a major ruler," and Josiah Bunting, superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute, calls it "the essential book on character, leadership, duty." Never intended for publication, the Meditations contains the practical and inspiring wisdom by which this remarkable emperor lived the life not of a saintly recluse, but of a general, administrator, legislator, spouse, parent, and judge besieged on all sides.

The Emperor's Handbook offers a vivid and fresh translation of this important piece of ancient literature. It brings Marcus's words to life and shows his wisdom to be as relevant today as it was in the second century. This book belongs on the desk and in the briefcase of every business executive, political leader, and military officer. It speaks to the soul of anyone who has ever exercised authority or faced adversity or believed in a better day.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Steve Forbes A must read for business leaders. This is a fantastic achievement.

Josiah Bunting II Superintendent, Virginia Military Institute Timeless, magnificent, simple: the essential book on character, leadership, duty. No translation does the Emperor's Meditations better or nobler justice.

Admiral Stansfield Turner Former Director of the CIA All of us today would do well to take counsel from Marcus Aurelius. His pithy aphorisms lay out a philosophy of individual responsibility that should be of great value to each of us, whether in leading fulfilling lives, managing corporations, or leading countries.

Kenneth L. Woodward author of The Book of Miracles David and Scot Hicks have endowed serious readers with a marvelous new translation of a text that still challenges any society that hopes to understand what it means to be civilized.

Donald Kagan Hillhouse Professor of History and Classics at Yale University The wisdom contained in this handbook has been admired through the ages. The Hicks brothers' excellently clear translation happily now makes it accessible.

Jacques Barzun author of From Dawn to Decadence The Meditations is a work I disliked for its flaccid piety and self-concern from the time I read it years ago. But a look for curiosity's sake into this new translation has led me to read it all with genuine pleasure. The philosophical observations are the same but the tone is manly and there is a subtle and agreeable variety as the subject changes from self to the world and to the gods.

Victor Davis Hanson Professor of Classics at California State University This new, accessible translation by Scot and David Hicks of the emperor's famous Stoic handbook reflects far better the flavor of Marcus Aurelius's own style. Americans should read Marcus -- and this new edition now makes it a joy.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (November 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743233832
• ISBN-13: 978-0743233835
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > History > Ancient > Rome

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best translation available!, November 6, 2002

By 

Jmark2001 (Florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations (Hardcover)

The Hicks brothers have produced a handsome volume of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius that is also the best translation available. The old Penguin edition translation was servicable. George Long's translation was incomprehensible in many parts. The Gregory Hays translation does very well but is not as transparently clear and as elegant as this one. I got this book the first week that it came out and it will be my preferred edition for many years to come. Highly recommended.

133 of 140 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Question of Tone, October 15, 2005

By 

Warren Keith Wright - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations (Hardcover)

This translation of the Greek writings that the author called "To Himself" is smooth, deft, and self-assured; the book sits well in the hand; the subject index is thorough. For generations Marcus Aurelius has proven not only a welcome counselor, but a worthy opponent to measure oneself against. Why does this version leave one feeling not refreshed but harangued?

In an earnest attempt to reach modern readers, something has gone wrong with the tone. The pages are peppered with the imperative contraction "Don't," and the "You" being addressed is not a man conferring with his soul, but a smug preacher hectoring us with his own perfection. Yet consider how often Marcus returns to certain themes---that you should not mind what other people think of you; that you should cease to assign blame, or feel resentment for ill-treatment; that since life is but breath you should not care whether yours is long or short. The very repetition shows how hard it was for him to attain permanent detachment: you need not exhort yourself to meet standards you have already mastered.

Perhaps a claim made in the introduction, explaining the rationale for a new edition, hints at what seems amiss in The Emperor's Handbook: "[W]e tend to conceive of freedom, even the religious freedoms we take pretty much for granted, in largely political terms, perhaps because, second, we have come seriously to doubt our psychological freedom, or freedom of mind." (9) (How's that again? Rather, in an era of contracting public freedoms and increasing pressure toward conformity, many contend that the only true liberty lies within.) A version inspired by such assumptions skews the even-tempered voice of the fellow human being who wrote these meditations. The layout, with bullet lists and sound bites, makes the book look like yet another treatise aimed at the tired businessman; and the new title seems a marketing ploy. The world needs no more emperors.

When judging a work in a foreign tongue, it is wise to use one translation as a corrective for another. By all means buy this version, as I did: the celebrated and successful give it high praise (see dust jacket). And buy one of the other renderings; consult the reviews on this site for Hays, or Staniforth. Then read them in tandem, compare and contrast, in order to better "See things for what they are" (Book 12, Section 10) for yourself.

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterful Translation of a Masterpiece, June 2, 2003

By 

James R. Reiff (North Bergen, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations (Hardcover)

The Hicks brothers' collaboration has produced a masterful translation of a masterpiece. "The Emperor's Handbook" captures the sublime essence and ancient character of "The Meditations" but never strays into the arcane terminology of the ancient Stoics. The Hicks brothers also avoid the forced and complex grammatical constructs found in other translations. This translation could easily be understood by a sixth grade child yet it sacrifices none of the profound meaning or prosaic beauty of the original. Most refreshing is the absence of any effort to turn the work into some New-Age mystical revelation.

Having read about nine translations I must say, this one is, by far, the best contemporary English translation available. There are other fine ones such as the work by Hard and Gill or even the Loeb Classics version but they are better suited for people already familiar with Marcus Aurelius and Stoic philosophy.

My warmest thanks go out to David and Scot Hicks for a work that I hope will broaden the audience of Marcus Aurelius.