I was given a copy of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius by a family member for Christmas in 2021 and it contains the spiritual reflections of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius from 180AD. I'll admit it was a little intimidating, difficult to read at times and the sentiments became repetitive but I’m pleased to have read it.
Meditations is a collection of personal thoughts divided into 12 books although I wasn't able to discern any clear theme or order to any of the books. Marcus Aureliuis had a staunch belief in the gods and that the soul lives on after death. Believing all things have a natural beginning and an end, he also held the view that the gods would never give a man more than he could endure.
Reading like a series of dot points from a self help book, here's an example of advice from early on in the book that we can still apply today:
"Do not waste the remaining part of your life in thoughts about other people, when you are not thinking with reference to some aspect of the common good. Why deprive yourself of the time for some other task? I mean, thinking about what so-and-so is doing, and why, what he is saying or contemplating or plotting, and all that line of thought, makes you stray from the close watch on your own directing mind." Page 17The author never expected his work to be published which explains the lack of order or cohesion to his thoughts. Instead, these writings are personal reminders to himself on how to 'do better' as we say today. It includes sage advice for the ages, like this:
"The best revenge is not to be like your enemy." Page 46Reading Meditations is akin to reading a series of distilled diary entries or prompts on how to lead a principled life and be a good example to others, and included suggestions like this one:
"So keep yourself simple, good, pure, serious, unpretentious, a friend of justice, god-fearing, kind, full of affection, strong for your proper work. Strive hard to remain the same man that philosophy wished to make you. Revere the gods, look after men. Life is short. The one harvest of existence on earth is a godly habit of mind and social action." Page 51Marcus Aurelius mentions the duty of man many times in his writings, and believes strongly that to be a good person you need to contribute positively to the community, best summarised in this observation:
"What does not benefit the hive does not benefit the bee either." Page 57I found some of his opinions harsh, particularly his thoughts about death and sleep:
"When you are reluctant to get up from your sleep, remind yourself that it is your constitution and man's nature to perform social acts, whereas sleep is something you share with dumb animals. Now what accords with the nature of each being is thereby the more closely related to it, the more in its essence, and indeed the more to its liking." Page 73Marcus Aurelius didn't appear to fear death, quite the opposite actually. He wrote frequently of facing the fact death is inevitable and advising not to worry about it. Instead he encouraged embracing death although there's no way of knowing if he was able to do this himself when his time came.
"What dies does not pass out of the universe. If it remains here and is changed, then here too it is resolved into the everlasting constituents, which are the elements of the universe and of you yourself. These too change, and make no complaint of it." Page 74If I had to summarise Meditations, I would say the overall sentiment is: life is short, we will all die soon and be forgotten so work hard, obey the gods and be an upstanding man.
"Work. Don't work as a miserable drudge, or in any expectation of pity or admiration. One aim only: action or inaction as civic cause demands." Page 86I wonder what the author would think of today's society and work ethic. What's clear in his work is his recognition of the passage of time, and how quickly we die and will soon after be forgotten. Perhaps he would be pleased to know that centuries later people still study his work, but most of us can never hope to achieve this type of legacy.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius was repetitive and a tough read given the translation, beliefs of the times and the dot point nature begging an overarching structure that just wasn't there. In this case, the sense of accomplishment I feel after reading Meditations is greater than my rating, but 'I make no complaint of it' and am more than satisfied.
