The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (Paperback)

~ (Author), Michael Chase (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Inner Citadel is a rich and substantial book and will certainly affect future scholarship on Marcus Aurelius. -- Rachana Kemtekur, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"[P]rovides background matter and analysis of the main themes in the Meditations,...[and] fresh translations of many of the sayings. -- Washington Post Book World

Review

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius has been a popular text since the sixteenth century, and is a vital source in understanding the ideas of the Stoic School. Hadot seeks to demonstrate the context and background to Marcus Aurelius's writings, and helps to explain them to a modern readership. He makes the crucial point that Stoics considered the sole purpose of studying philosophy was to improve one's moral conduct. Hence Marcus's writings are in the form of a personal journal designed to develop the practice of acting morally and reflectively...Throughout the book Hadot stresses the depth of Stoic thought, and the interest it holds for modern philosophy...I would particularly recommend this book to those whose education in Ancient Philosophy has centred on Plato and Aristotle, and who are interested in finding out how their ideas were developed by later philosophers.
--Matthew Clark (JACT Review )

In The Inner Citadel, Hadot applies to Marcus Aurelius' Meditations his characteristic interpretive approach: treating ancient philosophy as a 'way of life,' in particular one which provides its students with 'spiritual exercises' to enable them to make progress towards wisdom, and treating ancient philosophical texts with attention to the 'forms of discourse,' or constraints of genre, tradition, and audience that affected their production...The Inner Citadel is a rich and substantial book and will certainly affect future scholarship on Marcus Aurelius.
--Rachana Kemtekur (Bryn Mawr Classical Review )

Hadot probes Marcus Aurelius's guidelines and convictions and discerns the until now unperceived conceptual system that grounds them. Abundantly quoting the Meditations to illustrate his analysis, he allows Marcus Aurelius to speak directly to us. Hadot unfolds for us the general philosophical context of the Meditations, commenting on the philosophers Marcus Aurelius read and giving special attention to the teachings of Epictetus, whom Marcus followed closely...Hadot's study offers a fresh picture of the fascinating philosopher-emperor, a fuller understanding of theories and doctrines of Stoicism, and rich insight on the culture of the Roman empire in the second century. Hadot has been working on Marcus Aurelius for more than twenty years; in this book he distills his analysis and conclusions with extraordinary lucidity for the general reader and specialist. (Word Trade )

Plato used to talk of philosopher-kings; Marcus Aurelius was something even better: He was a philosopher-emperor. The leader of the Roman Empire spent most of his life in troubling times, campaigning against the barbarians, dealing with conspiracy at home, even combatting an upstart cult that revered one of those Galilean wonder-workers. Yet the most powerful man in the world still managed to live the life of a Stoic, and to record his reflections on how we should live. Those meditations, as these inner pep talks are usually called, became one of the best-loved books of antiquity...This study--by a leading authority on Marcus--provides background matter and analysis of the main themes in the Meditations, as well as fresh translations of many of the sayings. (Washington Post Book World )

Because both translator and author are contemporaries, discussions between them contributed to an excellent and faithful translation....[Hadot argues] that The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius must be understood primarily as a 'philosophical' work not in the sense of speculative philosophy, but as philosophy that represents a way of life in the tradition of the Stoics...This is an excellent study of the Meditations.
--P. A. Streveler (Choice )

The power and vigour of H.'s interpretation derive partly from his belief in the importance and continuing value of Stoic philosophy at least broadly interpreted in terms of a stoic outlook on life...In this book, as in his work as a whole, he sets a demanding standard, and an example which we can all applaud.
--R. B. Rutherford (Classical Review )

Pierre Hadot, Professeur Honoraire of the College de France, aims in The Inner Citadel to discover what the emperor wanted to accomplish by writing [the Meditations]…The book he has written (published in French in 1992) achieves these aims superbly while also offering a broad introduction to the intellectual world of the second century…Through his analysis of the Meditations, Hadot exposes to our view the mind of those who ruled the Roman world at the height of its prosperity.
--Kenneth D. Bratt (Calvin Theological Journal )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (December 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674007077
• ISBN-13: 978-0674007079
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #354,268 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice analysis of the Meditations, October 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (Hardcover)

Hadot manages an academically rigorous analysis of the _Meditations_ while also bringing out the vibrancy and robust spirituality which must have accompanied the ancient philosophies. Where most secondary sources for the Stoics focus upon dry-as-dust technical logistics (which the ancients universally decried), Hadot brings to the foreground the true purpose of ancient meditation techniques, and provides readers some hints of what it might have been like to study Stoicism as a life-philosophy instead of merely an academic curiosity. The book also provides a wonderful synopsis of Epictetus' teaching and style, which strongly influenced M.A. A fine companion with Hadot's _Philosophy As a Way of Life_.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book About a Great Book , August 17, 2007

By	Reader (Arlington, Virginia) - See all my reviews

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Until I read this marvelous book, I regarded the "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius as somber reflections on life by a wise and sensitive observer -- but not as much more. "The Inner Citadel" shows that the "Meditations" were really spiritual exercises shaped by a coherent Stoic philosophy, and intended to entrench a Stoic outlook in Marcus Aurelius' soul. The book connects Marcus Aurelius to other Stoic thinkers such as Seneca and Epictetus, and shows that Stoicism was both a sophisticated ethical system and an appealing form of non-supernatural piety. Anyone who enjoyed the "Meditations" will love "The Inner Citadel." It's a thoughtful and eye-opening book. Six stars.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best and only real scholarly analysis of Marcus Aurelius, March 12, 2009

By	Ryan C. Holiday (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Hadot's study of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is undoubtedly the best educational discussion of one of the most underrated philosophers in history. A text like Meditations deserves a dedicated scholarly (but readable) supplement and Hadot has delivered it to us some thousand and a half years later.

Hadot's believes that the Meditations were not simply notes Marcus wrote to himself but rather a series of cognitive techniques practiced by many Stoics. He calls them "Imaginative Exercises." For example, there is the practice of "turning an obstacle upside down." Suppose you are helping someone (a virtue) and they make that difficult by being surly or unwilling to cooperate: patience and understanding. With this logic, there is rarely an excuse to ever find yourself at a philosophical impasse and is the epitome of Stoicism's adaptability.

Rather than think of Meditations as little bits of wisdom that Marcus jotted down, Hadot says, we should think of them a personal study of the tenets of Stoicism. Marcus is practicing what he has been taught as opposed to doing the teaching himself. This is a new interpretation as most other biographers have gotten caught up in comparing Marcus's actions and his words - analyzing whether or not he was a hypocrite, a drug addict, a warrior or an enfeebled emperor.

In Hadot's book we not only get a deep understanding of Marcus but we can see the love the author has for his subject. Hadot, through his discussion of Marcus, manages to also give the reader one of the best books on Epictetus and Seneca. His original translations of all three authors are welcome additions to the canon for the group. In short, if you liked Meditations or are researching the great Marcus Aurelius, this book is THE book on the topic. Starting anywhere else would be a waste of time.