Customer Reviews

Marcus Aurelius (Loeb Classical Library)

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I have read several translations of this work and have found the C.R. Haines version to be the best in terms of clarity and annotation. The format is also excellent, measuring just 4 ' by 6 ' inches, making it easy to keep in your pocket for daily reading.

"...when philosophers are kings and kings are philosophers..." Plato

If you ever hear someone turn the phrase, "when philosophers are kings," remember this; they already were and, that's right, you missed it. You missed it by about 1,820 years, give or take a few.

After some 25 or more years of training, a man born Marcus Annius Verus ascended to the Imperial throne of the Roman Empire and is known to history as Marcus Aurelius Antoninus or just Marcus Aurelius. Probably the best qualified ruler the world has known, Marcus Aurelius was a man and a ruler to whom historians most frequently point as someone who always placed the welfare of the people above all else.

Marcus Aurelius, the last in a series of philosopher emperors, spent most of the last thirteen years of his life in the damp and gloomy forests along the Danube. Beset by treason, incompetence and corruption he waged relentless war on the first few of uncounted waves of barbarian invaders who would ultimately destroy the Romans so thoroughly that not even their language would survive.

During this time he kept a diary of sorts. I use the word diary in the sense that Marcus wrote this book for himself alone, with no care whether any other should ever read it. He called his little book "To Himself."

What Marcus ultimately produced is a sometimes scattered yet concise handbook on how to live contented under any circumstances. It is here for us to inspect, to read and learn the inner thoughts of one of the greatest philosophers and humanitarian leaders in the history of the West.

There is to be found, if we are but willing to read, a definite system for controlling our thoughts and therefore our lives and our happiness. This "handbook" on how to be the source of your own happiness, commonly known as The Meditations, teaches a system of thought that, with a bit of practice, will show that you really are the only possible source of you own happiness - a source without limits and without end. This way of seeing the world also has side effects which are; greater participation in life, less frustration and little if any anxiety, anger or depression.

(2007) I must add: the new translation - "The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations" by the Hicks brothers is a superb contemporary English version. There have been other attempts but they don't even come close to the work of David and C. Scot Hicks. Look it up.

While the other reviewers wax eloquent on the topic of Marcus Aurelius and the incredibly insightful quality of his thinking, both neglect to mention C.R Haines actual translation, which, unless you know ancient Greek pretty well, is what you will actually spend your time reading. It is the fussiest, pseudo-archaic travesty of translation I have ever encountered. Never mind that the use of 'thee', 'thou' and the accompanying creaky verb forms have been out of vogue for over half a century, Haines mined the motherlode of obscurities and what I suppose is would-be poetic creativity. Thus you will encounter words like 'encairned', 'decensive', 'quotha', 'perforce', 'wroth', 'guerdon', and 'aye'(used like pepper throughout the text), all of which may be summed up in Haines' funniest quote,'Man, what art thou at?' It's hard to imagine that even in 1915 this translation did not seem ridiculously effete for a work of such practicality and clear sense! It is equally remarkable that Loeb had not modernized this turkey by 1987, anyway. If you want to consider the Greek text, this is the one to get. Otherwise you will find better and clearer English elsewhere!

A review of this treasure of wisdom and thought may border on the presumptious. Perhaps it may be of value for those coming to the book for the first time or for those who wish to compare another person's thoughts on the book with their own. Also, I find writing these notes helps me to understand my own reading.

Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor of Rome from 161--180 A.D. During the years he was absent from Rome leading wars against barbarian invaders, he set down his own thoughts during his moments of repose. His thoughts were appropriately titled "To Himself"; although they have come down to us under the more usual title of "Meditations". Marcus Aurelius never intended the publication of this work. As C.R. Haines states at the outset of his introduction to his edition: "It is not known how this small but priceless book of private devotional memoranda came to be preserved for posterity. But the writer that in it puts away all desire for after-fame has by means of it attained to imperishable remembrance."

I think it is important in the reading of this book to remember that it is Marcus Aurelius communing with himself in his position of Emperor. The reader will need to understand the book as an exercise in self-reflection to allow the book to work on his or her own capacity for self-reflection.

The book is in short, repetitive paragraphs and should not, with the exception of the opening chapter, be read as a discursive, continuous argument. Because Marcus Aurelius did not intend his reflections for publication, the language sometimes is crabbed and consise and needs effort to read. This assists in thinking through with the Emperor to the heart of what he has to say.

Marcus Aurelius teaches a philosophy that is usually described as stoicism which teaches control of the emotions and the subjection of the passions to what he describes as reason. For Marcus Aurelius the reason in each person is part of the overriding reason that pervades the cosmos. Marcus Aurelius teaches restraint, thought, modesty, friendliness and love to all, humility, a counsel against the quest for fame, and bravery and acceptance in the face of sorrow, pain and death. He teaches the need to perform the duties of one's position in life, without regret or complaint or ambition, as Marcus Aurelius himself, as it happened, was called upon to perform the duties of Roman Emperor. His teaching is eclectic and relies on Plato and Heraclitus in particular in addition to his stoic mentors, specifically the Greek slave Epictetus.

I read this book when young and it has been many years before I have returned to it. It is a good book to read in small
sections. I read much of it over several weeks while commuting back and forth on the Metro. The book also serves to put one's mind in the proper framework and perspective for the world of work.

The Loeb edition of this much-translated work is valuable because of its small size, the perceptive introduction by Haines and most importantly because it includes the original Greek on facing pages. This may seem unnecessary to the many people who would benefit from reading Marcus Aurelius who do not know Greek. I find it valuable to see and to read the original text in a language which, likewise, I studied briefly many years ago.

This is a great and lasting book. Wherever you may be in life, you will enjoy it and benefit from it.

This book is compact, well-made, and has a cool intro. The main text has the latin(?) original text of the work printed on the left-hand of the book. It seems, again, like a very well-made, sturdy book.

Since there are so many of these darn things the review shall be divided into three sections. First, a brief description of the Loeb series of books and their advantages/disadvantages. Second shall be my thoughts on the author himself, his accuracy, as well as his style and the style of his translator. This is of course only my opinion and should be treated as such. The final part shall review what this particular book actually covers.

The Loeb series date back to the turn of the last century. They are designed for people with at least some knowledge of Greek or Latin. They are a sort of compromise between a straight English translation and an annotated copy of the original text. On the left page is printed the text in Greek or Latin depending on the language of the writer and on the right side is the text in English. For somebody who knows even a little Greek or Latin these texts are invaluable. You can try to read the text in the original language knowing that you can correct yourself by looking on the next page or you can read the text in translation and check the translation with the original for more detail. While some of the translations are excellent mostly they are merely serviceable since they are designed more as an aid to translation rather than a translation in themselves. Most of them follow the Greek or Latin very closely. These books are also very small, maybe just over a quarter the size of your average hardcover book. This means that you'll need to buy more than just one book to read a complete work. They are also somewhat pricey considering their size. The Loeb Collection is very large but most of the more famous works can be found in better (and cheaper) translations elsewhere. If you want to read a rarer book or read one in the original language then you can't do better than the Loeb Editions.

Marcus Aurelius was the emperor of Rome in the second century AD. He was the last of the five "good" emperors and was succeeded by his mad son Commodus. If you've seen Gladiator you know who these people are. No, nothing in that movie was true. Marcus fancied himself something of a philosopher and followed the creed of stoicism. He spent most of his reign at war in Germania. His reign also saw a great plague sweep across the Roman Empire. He also seems (at least to me) to be a dull and lifeless fellow who puts more of his soul into philosophy and leaves none for earthly things.

Anyway, Marcus wrote some philosophical thoughts on his life and rule. This is them. This work is famous and useful in that it reveals the inner thoughts of a Roman Emperor. The only comparable documents are the writings of Julian (Volume I, Volume II, Volume III) who also considered himself a philosopher. Claudius also wrote a number of works, and Hadrian and a few other emperors actually wrote autobiographies but they haven't survived. Augustus had one engraved on tombs all over the empire but it was very brief. This edition is not the best translation. As some reviewers have commented the language is extremely outdated and archaic. I understand that he's trying to convey the way in which Aurelius wrote in pseudo-Athenian Greek but I feel that doing so by adding archaisms in English just adds a new level of distortion between the original and the translation. If I've given this book a low rating it is because I'm not fond of the book and I dislike the translation. I understand that it's a useful work but I just can't bring myself to like it.

I am assuming that a lot of people who might be interested in this are people learning NT Greek and this review is intended for them. I bought this after being very satisfied with the Loeb Epictetus. (See my review.) But Aurelieus' Greek is harder and less elegant (more optatives, more vocab that does not appear in the NT, more eliptical expressions) and this translation is simply AWFUL. Again and again I found I had to refer back to George Long's older translation to unpack the Greek, which defeats the purpose of a diglot. Aurelius is still wonderful for Christians, but until a diglot with a better translation comes out, I would skip this and focus on other non-biblical Greek.

If you like the prose in the King James Bible you will love this translation. I would look for something in modern english.