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The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations (Hardcover)

~ (Author), David Hicks (Translator), C. Scot Hicks (Translator) "1 I am indebted to my grandfather Verus for his good disposition and sweet temper..." (more)

4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

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. -- Review

Review

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

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

Admiral Stansfield TurnerFormer Director of the CIAAll 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. Woodwardauthor of The Book of MiraclesDavid 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 KaganHillhouse Professor of History and Classics at Yale UniversityThe wisdom contained in this handbook has been admired through the ages. The Hicks brothers' excellently clear translation happily now makes it accessible.

Jacques Barzunauthor of From Dawn to DecadenceThe 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 HansonProfessor of Classics at California State UniversityThis 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.

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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 5.8 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,214 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#15 in Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Ancient
#16 in Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Greek & Roman
#23 in Books > History > Ancient > Rome

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
1 I am indebted to my grandfather Verus for his good disposition and sweet temper. Read the first page

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 2 books:

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius: A Study (Oxford Classical Monographs) by R. B. Rutherford in Front Matter
Greek Thought: A Guide to Classical Knowledge (Harvard University Press Reference Library) by Jacques Brunschwig in Front Matter

1 book cites this book:

The Stoic Art of Living: Inner Resilience and Outer Results by Tom Morris in Front Matter

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	72% buy the item featured on this page: The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations 4.6 out of 5 stars (24) $15.84
	20% buy Meditations (Penguin Classics) 4.6 out of 5 stars (120) $7.92
	3% buy The Essential Marcus Aurelius (Tarcher Cornerstone Editions) 4.8 out of 5 stars (6) $8.00
	2% buy Letters from a Stoic (Penguin Classics) 4.7 out of 5 stars (24) $10.08

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
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4.6 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)

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83 of 85 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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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.

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43 of 44 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)

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.

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80 of 87 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 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.

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