He was Emperor of the Roman Empire from 161 to his death (of natural causes) in 180.
Original language: Greek. Although Latin was commonly spoken in Rome at that time, Greek was the language of intellectual culture.
I read the digireads.com edition. The translation is by George Long (1800-1879) and was first published in 1862.
Marcus’s tone is much too preachy. I don’t like his condemnation of pleasure, or his command to throw away your books.
It’s clear that the Meditations was written by Marcus as a message and reminder to himself. That makes it somewhat touching. It’s kind of a self-help manual for emperors.
It seems that the word “philosopher,” or its Latin equivalent, meant a virtuous person rather than (or in addition to) someone who writes about philosophy.
His book is repetitive.
Marcus’s philosophy is bleak and devoid of pleasure. He thinks pleasure is bad.
Last thoughts on Marcus Aurelius
I don’t like or agree with his philosophy. The book was somewhat interesting but I’m glad I’m done with it.
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