Meditations
The private notebook of a Roman emperor, written in Greek in army camps, never meant to be read.
Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, II.1, trans. George Long
What it is
Twelve books of notes that Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself during the last decade of his life, much of it on campaign on the Danube. There is no argument, no structure and no audience. He repeats himself because he is not writing a book; he is reminding himself of what he already believes on days when it is hard to believe it.
Where to start
Not at Book 1, which is a list of the people he learned from and means little until you know him. Open at Book 2 and read to the end of Book 4. If it holds you, go back to Book 1 last.
Which translation
Gregory Hays (Modern Library, 2002) is the one that made the book readable for a generation; it is loose, plain and fast. Robin Hard (Oxford World’s Classics) is closer to the Greek and has the best notes. George Long’s 1862 translation is public domain and still sound, though it says thou. Robin Waterfield (Basic Books, 2021) is the newest and the fullest annotated.
After this
Pierre Hadot’s The Inner Citadel is the book about this book. The Enchiridion is the handbook Marcus was applying.