The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius [Hardcover]

Mark Forstater (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2000

In the life of man, his time is but an instant, his substance ceaselessly changing, his senses degraded, the flesh of his body subject to decay, his soul a confusion.... How can a man find a sensible way to live? While camped by the frozen Danube River in the second century, Marcus Aurelius wrote down his thoughts in the midst of an eight-year war. These "meditations", as they have been traditionally called, were not written for publication or posterity, yet the Golden Emperor's, insights on anger, death, self-improvement, beauty, good, evil, and the difficulties of living a virtuous hie have provided inspiration and guidance for nearly two millennia. Now, for the first time, Mark Forstater has selected the key meditations or "teachings" as he prefers to think of them, reinterpreted them for a contemporary audience, and arranged them thematically into eight sections -- readers can easily locate their favorite passages or look for inspiration on specific subjects. This book is a must for anyone looking for enlightenment in today's frantic world, and makes the perfect gift for any occasion.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Abraham Lincoln claimed that the best way to test a man's character was to give him power. Surely, Marcus Aurelius's golden reign over the Roman Empire, A.D. 161 to A.D. 180, was such a test. Although this well-educated pagan despised wars and battles, "barbarian" tribes constantly besieged his empire on the Asian and German borders. As a result, he spent eight miserable winters camped by the frozen Danube River acting as commander-in-chief over his triumphant armies. During those gloomy nights, he wrote many of the meditations that appear in this excellent translation.

The lack of arrogance or self-pity in his ruminations offers proof that Aurelius passed Lincoln's test of character with flying colors. Furthermore, the best way to test a person's writing is to give it time. Once again, Aurelius aced the test. For example, contemporary world leaders would do well to heed his advice under the heading "Talking and Being": "Stop talking about what the good person should be, and just be that person." Most of these quotes are similarly brief as he extols the virtues of working hard, not acting impulsively, and living in communion with the natural world. Like Thich Nhat Hanh and Kahlil Gilbran, Marcus Aurelius is an accessible writer of lasting spiritual integrity. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

HFans of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations will enjoy this well-designed, accessible compendium of the Roman Emperor's spiritual insights. Film producer Forstater (of Monty Python and the Holy Grail fame) may seem an irreverent choice to edit the Stoic philosopher's thoughts, but what Forstater lacks in facility with the original Greek he more than compensates for in enthusiasm for his subject. In his introduction (which, at 90 pages, runs a bit long), Forstater identifies several areas in which Aurelius's teachings seem particularly timely, calling special attention to harmony with the environment and the cultivation of personal virtue. This is a book to savor and return to, like a friend. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper (May 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060195770
• ISBN-13: 978-0060195779
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,283,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Slave Serves as a Spiritual Mentor to an Emperor, May 31, 2000

By 

Sam Freedom "Sam Freedom" (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius (Hardcover)

During the best years of the Roman empire, a man wrote down his meditations on how one might live a good life. This man, Marcus Aurelius, was also the Emperor of Rome, and, indirectly, his greatest influence was a Greek slave named Epictetus who practiced the philosophy known as Stoicism. So here we have a philosophy that unites an emperor and a slave, thus demonstrating its power to unite beings across manufactured boundaries.

In short, Stoicism is not the dreary, morose way of life that some have portrayed it as. It is, actually, a way of getting the best out of one's 'short time under the sun'. Desires, for instance, seem a normal part of human existence, but according to Stoic philosphy, the act of desiring does nothing more than to magnify the sense of 'lack' in one's life. This magnified sense of lack causes a man to desire still more, and his increasing desires further magnify his sense of lack. But by being grateful for his existence now, and for what he does have and can effectively influence, a man magnifies that which is good and abundant in him. Again, Stoicism is not the stern, 'abstain from all things fun until death' philosophy it has been mistakenly characterized as, but instead is the opposite, a means of preparing for dying by learning how to live a good and righteous life; not by ideological morals, but by real and present values found 'here-and-now' within one's conscience.

Here are two beautiful quotes from the book, the first which is widely known, and the second which can be, but isn't:

Marcus Aurelius: 1) "I fear not dying, but of never having lived."

Epictetus thought that good people would say to God when they were dying,

2) "I leave full of gratefulness to you, for you have judged me worthy of celebrating the festival with you, of contemplating your works, and of following together with you the way in which you govern the world."

Important to note, is the fact that Aurelius did not write his meditations down in order to be famous, or to seek converts. He wrote them down for himself, as a sort of spiritual diary. Interestingly, many of his meditations were written while discharging his duty as commander-in-chief of the armed forces during several war campaigns against invading barbarian armies. The clarity and composure in his writings during these otherwise grave and treacherous times is a compelling case for his authenticity.

The author, Mark Forstater, takes from Aurelius' meditations and weaves in anectdotes, historical facts, and fine quotes from like-minded philosophers so as to make an otherwise serious discipline into something that any sincere person can touch, appreciate and most importantly, apply in his moment-to-moment life. I will leave you with a final example, and a wish that you have been served well by this review:

Against Nature--

"Begin each day by saying to yourself, 'Today I shall meet people who are interfering, ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, and selfish.' They are made this way because of their ignorance of what is good and evil.

"But I, who have seen the nature of good and its beauty, and of evil and its ugliness, know that the inner nature of the man who does evil is the same nature as mine (not that we are brothers, but we possess the same mind and the same share of spirit); therefore I can't be harmed by any of these men, for no one can impose on me what is degrading.

"I shouldn't be angry with my brother or hate him. For we are made to work in harmony, like a man's two feet or hands, eyelids, or the rows of upper and lower teeth. To work against one another is against Nature; and it is acting against Nature to be angry and to turn away."

-- Marcus Aurelius

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an intro to Aurelius and Stoicism in light of Gladiator, May 21, 2000

By 

Larry Mark, editor of MyJewishBooks.com - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius (Hardcover)

The popularity of the historically inaccurate but popular film, GLADIATOR, may ignite a new interest in the writings of the Roman Emperor-Philosopher Marcus Aurelius. This is ironic, since Aurelius wrote that one should emulate the boxer rather than the gladiator, since the boxer need only clench is fists (self reliance), while the gladiator required a sword. Forstater provides a very good introduction to the historic period and Aurelius's Stoic writings. Marcus Aurelius, of whom one Emperor was quite fond, ruled from 161 to 180. He died in what is now Vienna, most likely the victim of poisoning in a plot by his son Commodus (one of the Empires worst rulers). Marcus Aurelius, trained in the Stoic tradition by the former Greek slave Epictetus, wrote on themes dealing with death, change, being at one with nature, the control of quick tempers and anger, and about courage, hope, greed, avarice, virtue, justice, and peace. At a time when the Pax Roman collapsed, Aurelius wrote about peace, not power or fame. Spending eight winters on the Danube, fighting off the Eastern hordes and Germans, he used Stoicism for strength and comfort. Stoicism is not gloom and doom. Stoics can enjoy life, just seriously. The writings help the reader to understand how to concern oneself with what one is rather than what one possesses. Based on the teachings of Zeno, the Semitic Cypriot, it counsels you to be free of slavery to passions, to be self-reliant, and to control your goals, aversions, judgements, and desires.

Part 1 of the book (the first third) explains the life of Aurelius, Roman history, and the history of Greek Philosophy and the Stoics. Forstater also very briefly compares Aurelius' writing to those of Asian, Newtonian, and Hassidic philosophers. Part 2, in eight chaptered themes, presents segments of Aurelius's spiritual exercises (from his Ta Eis Heauton, which was first published in the 16th Century). Unfortunately, Aurelius's son did not learn any of the lessons. The book is best read like olive oil; dip into it periodically for sustenance.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An uninformed, trivial cash-in on the self-help market, January 9, 2001

By 

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

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius (Hardcover)

Forstater's book is either an uninformed and trivial glance at one of the masterworks of Western philosophy or a quick-and-dirty attempt to cash in on the self-help market.

Forstater says, in the third paragraph of the preface, "Marcus Aurelius wrote a book of "spiritual exercises" for himself that was in effect the first self-help book ever written." This demonstrates that he never studied Epictetus's Encheiridion; the title itself meaning "ready at hand" or "handbook" in contemporary speech.

This disappointing book is written in two parts. Part One, as said, is a trivial glance at the history and meaning of the Stoa. Part Two consists of some selections from the adequate, Victorian era translation by George Long. These selections have been transliterated into colloquial American with Forstarter's own subjective, subject titles and no references to the original work, such as "Med. XII.1."

Save your money and download the G. Long translation from the net or buy the C. R. Haines translation from Harvard (Loeb Classical Library,) or even the Penguin edition.