Meditations

About this book

A New Translation, with an Introduction, by Gregory Hays A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, Marcus Aurelius's Meditationsremains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus's insights and advice--on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others--have made the Meditationsrequired reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style. In Gregory Hays's new translation--the first in a generation--Marcus's thoughts speak with a new immediacy: never before have they been so directly and powerfully presented. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus(A.D. 121-180) succeeded his adoptive father as emperor of Rome in A.D. 161. A student of philosophy from his earliest youth, he was especially influenced by the first-century Stoic thinker Epictetus. His later reputation rests on his Meditations, written during his later years and never meant for formal publication. Gregory Haysis assistant professor of classics at the University of Virginia. He is currently completing a translation and critical study of the mythographer Fulgentius.