Stoicism is a branch of philosophy that emphasizes individual detachment. The Stoic lets go of the many aspects of life that they can’t change, such as failing health, disasters, or professional setbacks. Instead, the Stoic focuses their energy on what they can control, like their attitudes and goals. In this Book review, you’ll learn how to apply the basic precepts of Stoicism to your modern-day problems by letting go of anxiety and focusing your energy on your inner life.

Marcus Aurelius was a stoic philosopher and emperor of Rome from the year 161 to 190 and said to be the last of the five good Roman emperors.

During his 19-year reign, Marcus faced considerable hardship – war with barbarian tribes, a hostile takeover attempt by a close ally, an incompetent and greedy stepbrother as a co-emperor, an economy on the verge of collapse, and the death of several children.

Ancient wisdom for modern dilemmas.

READ THIS BOOK REVIEW IF YOU:

• Are interested in ancient philosophy and the tenets of Stoicism
• Seek basic advice for a better life
• Wonder how the insights of a Roman emperor apply to your daily life

Introduction

Marcus Aurelius was a 2nd century Roman Emperor whose career was plagued by natural disasters, violence, and political upheaval. While Aurelius climbed to prominence almost 2,000 years ago, his writings are still relevant today and offer modern audiences insight into how a revered leader managed to do his job amid incredibly stressful circumstances.

The following sections of this summary explore some of the emperor’s wisdom for maintaining personal peace and enjoying life in an unpredictable world.

Dealing with People

When you begin each morning, make peace with the fact that you’ll spend much of your day dealing with irritating, incompetent characters. Humans are imperfect, and it’s inevitable that you’ll cross paths with the arrogant, the unkind, and the annoying. Your colleague in the neighboring cubicle will chew his gum with his mouth open. Your Uber driver will have body odor. A male co-worker will talk over you during a meeting, or your mother will continue to call with unsolicited advice about your love life.

Remember that humans are social creatures by nature, so when socializing, these realities are unavoidable. Injustice, pain, and irritation are simply the way of life, and you’ll be better off if you make peace with these disturbances instead of letting them cause you angst at every turn.

Anxiety

Life is unfathomably short. Death hangs over you in every moment, and you must face the fact that its arrival will be random. You might go through your day minding your endless to-do list only to be hit by a bus. You might spend the present moment worrying about your future only to discover a lump in your breast. Consider the people who came before you in life. They spent just as much time carefully planning their choices or worrying about their finances — yet, death claimed them anyway. Your situation is no different.

In each moment, remember that your time on this planet is increasingly brief. Therefore, don’t worry about the future or about events that are outside of your control. Do whatever is in your power and be happy about it while you can.

Fame

Everyone desires their own form of fame. Perhaps you want to be the employee who devises a revolutionary idea that will change your company. Perhaps you want to write a bestselling book that will receive rave reviews. Or perhaps you simply want to be the kind of parent that your child will love and cherish, even after you pass on.

However, you’ll be a far happier person if you banish these ideas from your mind and stop worrying about fame, as this is the wrong use of your ambition and energy. Consider all the famous writers, inventors, and leaders who came before you. In your mind, the world wouldn’t exist as it does without their unique contributions. Yet those celebrities met the same fate that every other human must eventually encounter: They all disappeared into death. Fame cannot save you from this inevitability.

Also, consider that memory is relatively limited. Do you really know anything about your great-great-grandmother? Will people be talking about Martin Scorsese in 200 years? Even the most exciting public figures of the present recede into the blind oblivion of history. If fame is your goal, you’ll never attain what you seek. Even if you do manage to make it big, everyone will still forget about you eventually.

But don’t let this fate depress you; rather, let it be a reminder to take it easy. Whatever you do in life, you have the freedom to do it because you love it. Run for local office because you love kissing babies. Make a movie because you love the process of collaborating with actors. Write a book because you enjoy getting lost in the psychology of your characters. Once you let go of the false promises of fame, you can live for love instead.

Let Go

You contain three basic components: a body, the contents of your life, and your mind. You’re obligated to take care of all these components. Do your best to stay healthy by eating wisely and exercising. Do your best to take care of your family and honor your vocation. Do your best to go to therapy, show yourself some compassion, and improve your intelligence.

However, don’t mistakenly assume that your perfect efforts will lead to a perfect life. Even if you do all the right things, like yearly checkups or regular exercise, you might end up with a terminal diagnosis. Even if you work really hard at the office, you might get laid-off. Your best efforts won’t influence the random twists of fate that pervade human existence, and your life might go haywire even if you manage to make all the right choices.

The only aspect of yourself that you can truly control is your mind. You have the power to observe the way you think. You can observe your tendency to hold grudges or feed on anger. You can go to therapy and address your recurring pattern of playing the victim. You can choose to be better informed on current events or to improve your intellect by reading more summary.

Your attitudes, emotions, and mental patterns are under your control, so use that power to improve in any way you can. Don’t waste time fretting about the aspects of your life that are impossible to change. Instead, direct your energy to the part of yourself that is within your power.

Use Your Head

The circumstances of your life will never be sources of contentment and peace. You can’t rely on an elusive promotion or a perfect relationship to make you feel whole. If your workday is full of chaos or your home is a source of stress, you don’t need new circumstances in order to find peace. Instead, you can find peace in your own mind.

Every person has the power to retreat into their mind. You can take a deep breath, close your eyes, and experience stillness, even if you’re surrounded by anxious co-workers and arguing children. Serenity is always accessible, and you don’t need to alter your circumstances to attain it.

If life feels stressful and disorganized, take a moment to reflect on your principles. Remember that your values and beliefs ought to be your highest priority. Focus your efforts on activities and relationships that are true to your ideals and let the rest fade away. Furthermore, remind yourself of the brevity of life and remember that suffering is inevitable. Instead of feeling resentful about your circumstances, accept them as an unavoidable part of life and move on.

The most authentic satisfaction comes from within. You can be your own source of peace and contentment. Take care of your mind by paying attention to how it works and becoming mindful of your true priorities. If you can do this, your mind will ultimately take care of you.

Other People

Don’t worry about what other people do, say, or think. Remember that the stuff of life belongs to one of two categories: the things you can control and the things you can’t control. Other people always fall into the latter category.

You can’t force a co-worker to like you or prevent your neighbor from letting their dog relieve itself on your property. These occurrences might feel irritating, but in the end, you can’t control what people do. You can surprise your co-worker with an endless deluge of homemade baked goods, but they still might think that you’re an inferior copywriter. You can report your neighbor to the Neighborhood Association and instigate a crusade against dog poop, but that still won’t prevent a canine from squatting by your mailbox. Your energy and emotion will come to no avail.

You’ll be better off if you learn to let go of such anxieties and focus your energy on the parts of life that you can control. If you want to get into that co-worker’s good graces, you can be courteous and diligent when you work together, but don’t lose yourself in anxiety if your actions don’t produce the intended consequences. You can talk to your neighbor about their dog, but don’t let yourself fall into a downward spiral of loathing and resentment if that neighbor refuses to listen. Focus on your mind and find ways to be at peace with unpleasant circumstances.

Getting Out of Bed

When your alarm goes off in the early hours of the morning, and the rainfall against your roof makes you want to stay in bed instead of chasing the bus, tell yourself this: “I rise to the work of a human being.”

Why are you on this planet? Are you here to be comfortable — to stay in bed all day eating Hot Pockets and rewatching every season of Mad Men? No. You’re here to fulfill your calling. You’re here to till your tiny corner of the universe. Are you a painter? Get out of bed and put something on a canvas. Are you an engineer? Get out of bed and write some code. Are you a writer? Get out of bed and summarize a book.

You know what you’re here for. You’re here to be a human being so do what humans do. Live well. Take care of yourself and other people. Live according to your beliefs. Brush your teeth and put on real clothes instead of moping around the house in that unwashed bathrobe. You have a body and brain so put them to use — and for God’s sake, stop eating Hot Pockets.

Judging the Universe

The things that happen in life — such as hurricanes, layoffs, infidelity, or asteroids — are all natural occurrences. They just happen. They belong to the universe, and they’re neither good nor bad.

Resist the urge to judge the contents of your life. Don’t give the universe the evil eye if a tree falls on your garage. Don’t blame the forces that be if your lover stops loving you. Accept everything that happens to you, even if it’s disagreeable and painful. The universe has given you this fate, so who are you to argue?

Furthermore, the universe is indifferent. The hardships you suffer aren’t a personal attack from the divine. They’re just the way of life. Instead of judging the universe and becoming resentful because of your hardships, practice acceptance. Don’t label certain events as good or bad, blessing or curse. Simply accept that they exist. Make peace with your life, however it happens to unfold.

Justice

Take it upon yourself to exercise your power for the sake of others. Injustice and oppression are incorrect human behaviors, and to perpetuate an injustice is to act against yourself, for you damage the quality of your soul if you hurt other people. You must not only strive to act in the most just way but also wield your power to alleviate oppression.

This balance may feel difficult to strike. You might ask, “How can I practice acceptance of the universe and work to change the world?” The answer is that you must cherish both aims. Go to the Capitol to lobby for gun reform but don’t hate your life if you fail to influence legislation. Work as hard as you can to elect the first black female governor of your state but don’t fall into depression if her conservative opponent rigs the election in his favor. Hold onto your inner peace — even if things don’t go your way.

Change

Every change, even a positive one, can feel difficult. Your long-awaited promotion will come with new hours and responsibilities, and it might take time to get used to that. Getting married might be what you truly desire, but that won’t make it any easier to find someone else’s socks and toenail clippings around your house.

Every good in life requires change. Seeds change to become consumable crops. You get smarter in order to get your degree. You outgrow your favorite shirt in order to become an adult. As you encounter the more difficult changes in life, remind yourself that change is the source of every good thing. Also, remind yourself that change is inevitable and stop fighting it.

One More Note on Brevity

Life is short, and it will be over before you know it. Stop worrying about anything (and everything) that’s beyond your control. Stop fretting about the future and the opinions that other people hold. Focus your energy on your own business and don’t let the uncontrollable elements of life ruin the precious time you have left.

Summary

Marcus Aurelius relied on a collection of ancient stoic practices to cope with hardship, manage stress, and remain a posed, effective, and beloved leader – here are three such stoic practices:

Praemeditatio Malorum

“Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness.” – Marcus Aurelius

Marcus routinely rehearsed interacting with people who made him feel stressed. Paradoxically, simulating stress allowed Marcus to experience less stress throughout the day.

Praemeditatio Malorum, which is Latin for “Premeditation of Adversity,” is the act of imagining and accepting a troubling event; not thinking of ways to avoid an undesirable outcome but accepting an undesirable outcome has occurred and learning how to cope.

The key to stress management is convincing your mind you can cope with any situation. By imagining a worst-case scenario has come true and rehearsing how you’ll deal with the fallout, you convince your mind that you’ll handle any outcome.

If you’re about to give a presentation, assume it’s already gone badly and now you need to deal with the embarrassment and shame that you feel. As those feelings wash over you, you’ll realize it sucks, but you’re still alive. An hour after the presentation, the stress will be greatly diminished; a day later, you’ll have moved past it, and a month later, you’ll have completely forgotten about it.

“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.” – Marcus Aurelius

Stoic Reframing

When you encounter a troubling situation, reframe the situation as an opportunity to practice virtue.

Virtue is derived from the Greek word ‘Arete,’ which means ‘excellence of character.’ If you’re not sure which virtues to practice during the day, imagine a person you admire, alive or dead, and ask yourself, “Which character traits do I want to emulate?” I often imagine Winston Churchill and set an intention to practice steadfastness and decisiveness, or I consider my favorite college professor and aim to express the virtues of curiosity and humility.

At the start of Meditations, Marcus created a long list of traits he admired in family members and mentors. Later Marcus concludes, “In human life there is nothing better than the virtues of justice, truth, temperance and fortitude to attain complete self-satisfaction (paraphrased)”

The next time you encounter hardship, select a virtue you admire in others and wish to develop in yourself. Reframe a stressful situation as an opportunity to accelerate the development of that virtue in your life and become a person others will admire.

“Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not ‘This is misfortune,’ but ‘To bear this worthily is good fortune.’” – Marcus Aurelius

Stoic Explaining

“The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.” – Marcus Aurelius

The human mind is like a great Hollywood director – it’s great at adding drama to events and making situations seem dire. When we encounter a setback, it’s natural to use vivid emotional language and describe the situation as “devastating,” “horrible,” or “terrible.” It’s natural to jump to a dire conclusion and assume “I’m doomed” or “Everyone will think I’m an idiot for letting this happen.” Dramatic and dire descriptions unnecessarily amplify stress.

If we learn to strip away emotional language when describing a problem and talk about the problem like a scientist or a robot, only talking about the facts and never making untested assumptions, we can manage stressful events with grace. If you’ve just delivered a poor presentation to your boss, don’t tell yourself, “Damn, that was awful, my boss probably thinks I’m an idiot. I’ll never get that promotion.” Drop the emotional baggage, and just stick to the facts: “That wasn’t my best performance.”

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking.” – Marcus Aurelius

Conclusion

Much of life is — and will continue to be — outside of your control. Don’t worry about the events and people that you can’t change. Instead, work to influence the realms of life that are within your power. How you think and feel will always be under your control. Live as virtuously as you can, and don’t worry about the rest.

Above all, remember that your time on this planet is brief so make the most of it.

About the author

Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 AD. His Meditations are considered a classic cornerstone of Stoic philosophy.

Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire from 161 to 180 AD. Born to an upper-class Roman family in 121, Aurelius was adopted by his uncle, the emperor Antoninus Pius, in 138. Aurelius studied Greek and Latin literature, philosophy, and law, and was especially influenced by the Stoic thinker Epictetus. After Pius’s death, Aurelius succeeded the throne alongside his adoptive brother, Lucius Verus. His reign was marked by plague, numerous military conflicts, and the deaths of friends and family—including Lucius Verus in 169. Despite these struggles, the Empire flourished under Marcus’s rule as the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an era from 27 to 180 of relative peace and prosperity for the Roman Empire. Aurelius wrote his Meditations as spiritual exercises never intended for publication, and died at fifty-eight while on campaign against the Germanic tribes.

David Hicks spent decades heading independent schools in the United States while speaking and writing in defense of classical learning in the modern academy. In 1982 his book Norms & Nobility, a treatise on education, won the American Library Association’s Outstanding Book Award for education. He was President of Darlington School in Rome, Georgia, and he and his family make their permanent home at West of the Moon, a ranch in Montana’s Madison Valley. David and Scot Hicks are brothers.

Scot Hicks headed schools in Greece, France, and the United States and for over twenty years taught Latin and Greek in Europe and America. His translation of Sophocles’s Antigone was performed at schools and at the Aspen Institute in Colorado. His other translations from Greek include Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, and translations of Latin, Italian, French and English poetry have appeared in reviews in France, where he lives with his family in Brittany. Scot and David Hicks are brothers.

Genres

Personal Memoirs, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Classics, History, Self Help, Psychology, Personal Development, Spirituality, Leadership, Biography, Ancient Fiction and Literature Classics, Ancient Greek Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Ethics and Moral Philosophy, Free Will and Determinism, Ancient Greek History, Humanism, Roman Philosophy

Table of Contents

Meditations
Book One
Book Two
Book Three
Book Four
Book Five
Book Six
Book Seven
Book Eight
Book Nine
Book Ten
Book Eleven
Book Twelve

Overview

Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161–180 CE, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy.Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. It is possible that large portions of the work were written at Sirmium, where he spent much time planning military campaigns from 170 to 180. Some of it was written while he was positioned at Aquincum on campaign in Pannonia, because internal notes tell us that the second book was written when he was campaigning against the Quadi on the river Granova (modern-day Hron) and the third book was written at Carnuntum. It is not clear that he ever intended the writings to be published, so the title Meditations is but one of several commonly assigned to the collection. These writings take the form of quotations varying in length from one sentence to long paragraphs.

Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, distills the wisdom of great thinkers before him into a volume that has stood the test of time.

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (AD 121-180) embodied in his person that deeply cherished ideal figure of antiquity, the philosopher-king. His Meditations, written in moments snatched from military campaigns and the rigors of politics, reveal a mind of exceptional clarity and originality, and a sprit attuned to both the particulars of human destiny and the vast patterns which underlie it.

Review/Endorsements/Praise/Award

“The emperor Marcus Aurelius, the proverbial philosopher-king, produced in Greek a Roman manual of piety, the Meditations, whose impact has been felt for ages since. Here, for our age, is his great work presented in its entirety, strongly introduced and freshly, elegantly translated by Gregory Hays for the Modern Library.” —Robert Fagles

Video and Podcast

Read an Excerpt/PDF Preview

Book 1

Debts and Lessons

1. My grandfather Verus

Character and self-control.

2. My father (from my own memories and

his reputation)

Integrity and manliness.

3. My mother

Her reverence for the divine, her generosity, her inability not only to do wrong but even to conceive of doing it. And the simple way she lived-not in the least like the rich.

4. My great-grandfather

To avoid the public schools, to hire good private teachers, and to accept the resulting costs as money well-spent.

5. My first teacher

Not to support this side or that in chariot-racing, this fighter or that in the games. To put up with discomfort and not make demands. To do my own work, mind my own business, and have no time for slanderers.

6. Diognetus

Not to waste time on nonsense. Not to be taken in by conjurors and hoodoo artists with their talk about incantations and exorcism and all the rest of it. Not to be obsessed with quail-fighting or other crazes like that. To hear unwelcome truths. To practice philosophy, and to study with Baccheius, and then with Tandasis and Marcianus. To write dialogues as a student. To choose the Greek lifestyle-the camp-bed and the cloak.

7. Rusticus

The recognition that I needed to train and discipline my character.

Not to be sidetracked by my interest in rhetoric. Not to write treatises on abstract questions, or deliver moralizing little sermons, or compose imaginary descriptions of The Simple Life or The Man Who Lives Only for Others. To steer clear of oratory, poetry and belles lettres.

Not to dress up just to stroll around the house, or things like that.To write straightforward letters (like the one he sent my mother from Sinuessa). And to behave in a conciliatory way when people who have angered or annoyed us want to make up.

To read attentively-not to be satisfied with “just getting the gist of it.” And not to fall for every smooth talker.

And for introducing me to Epictetus’s lectures-and loaning me his own copy.

8. Apollonius

Independence and unvarying reliability, and to pay attention to nothing, no matter how fleetingly, except the logos. And to be the same in all circumstances-intense pain, the loss of a child, chronic illness. And to see clearly, from his example, that a man can show both strength and flexibility.

His patience in teaching. And to have seen someone who clearly viewed his expertise and ability as a teacher as the humblest of virtues.

And to have learned how to accept favors from friends without losing your self-respect or appearing ungrateful.

9. Sextus

Kindness.

An example of fatherly authority in the home. What it means to live as nature requires.

Gravity without airs.

To show intuitive sympathy for friends, tolerance to amateurs and sloppy thinkers. His ability to get along with everyone: sharing his company was the highest of compliments, and the opportunity an honor for those around him.

To investigate and analyze, with understanding and logic, the principles we ought to live by.

Not to display anger or other emotions. To be free of passion and yet full of love.

To praise without bombast; to display expertise without pretension.

10. The literary critic Alexander

Not to be constantly correcting people, and in particular not to jump on them whenever they make an error of usage or a grammatical mistake or mispronounce something, but just answer their question or add another example, or debate the issue itself (not their phrasing), or make some other contribution to the discussion-and casually insert the correct expression.

11. Fronto

To recognize the malice, cunning and hypocrisy that power produces, and the peculiar ruthlessness often shown by people from “good families.”

12. Alexander the Platonist

Not to be constantly telling people (or writing them) that I’m too busy, unless I really am. Similarly, not to be always ducking my responsibilities to the people around me because of “pressing business.”

13. Catulus

Not to shrug off a friend’s resentment-even unjustified resentment-but try to put things right.

To show your teachers ungrudging respect (the Domitius and Athenodotus story), and your children unfeigned love.

14. [My brother] Severus

To love my family, truth and justice. It was through him that I encountered Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion and Brutus, and conceived of a society of equal laws, governed by equality of status and of speech, and of rulers who respect the liberty of their subjects above all else.

And from him as well, to be steady and consistent in valuing philosophy.

And to help others and be eager to share, not to be a pessimist, and never to doubt your friends’ affection for you. And that when people incurred his disapproval, they always knew it. And that his friends never had to speculate about his attitude to anything: it was always clear.

15. Maximus

Self-control and resistance to distractions.

Optimism in adversity-especially illness.

A personality in balance: dignity and grace together.

Doing your job without whining.

Other people’s certainty that what he said was what he thought, and what he did was done without malice.

Never taken aback or apprehensive. Neither rash nor hesitant-or bewildered, or at a loss. Not obsequious-but not aggressive or paranoid either.

Generosity, charity, honesty.

The sense he gave of staying on the path rather than being kept on it.

That no one could ever have felt patronized by him-or in a position to patronize him.

A sense of humor.

16. My adopted father

Compassion. Unwavering adherence to decisions, once he’d reached them. Indifference to superficial honors. Hard work. Persistence.

Listening to anyone who could contribute to the public good.

His dogged determination to treat people as they deserved.

A sense of when to push and when to back off.

Putting a stop to the pursuit of boys.

His altruism. Not expecting his friends to keep him entertained at dinner or to travel with him (unless they wanted to). And anyone who had to stay behind to take care of something always found him the same when he returned.

His searching questions at meetings. A kind of single-mindedness, almost, never content with first impressions, or breaking off the discussion prematurely.

His constancy to friends-never getting fed up with them, or playing favorites.

Self-reliance, always. And cheerfulness.

And his advance planning (well in advance) and his discreet attention to even minor things.

His restrictions on acclamations-and all attempts to flatter him.

His constant devotion to the empire’s needs. His stewardship of the treasury. His willingness to take responsibility-and blame-for both.

His attitude to the gods: no superstitiousness. And his attitude to men: no demagoguery, no currying favor, no pandering. Always sober, always steady, and never vulgar or a prey to fads.

The way he handled the material comforts that fortune had supplied him in such abundance-without arrogance and without apology. If they were there, he took advantage of them. If not, he didn’t miss them.

No one ever called him glib, or shameless, or pedantic. They saw him for what he was: a man tested by life, accomplished, unswayed by flattery, qualified to govern both himself and them.

His respect for people who practiced philosophy-at least, those who were sincere about it. But without denigrating the others-or listening to them.

His ability to feel at ease with people-and put them at their ease, without being pushy.

His willingness to take adequate care of himself. Not a hypochondriac or obsessed with his appearance, but not ignoring things either. With the result that he hardly ever needed medical attention, or drugs or any sort of salve or ointment.

This, in particular: his willingness to yield the floor to experts-in oratory, law, psychology, whatever-and to support them energetically, so that each of them could fulfil his potential.

That he respected tradition without needing to constantly congratulate himself for Safeguarding Our Traditional Values.

Not prone to go off on tangents, or pulled in all directions, but sticking with the same old places and the same old things.

The way he could have one of his migraines and then go right back to what he was doing-fresh and at the top of his game.

That he had so few secrets-only state secrets, in fact, and not all that many of those.

The way he kept public actions within reasonable bounds-games, building projects, distributions of money and so on-because he looked to what needed doing and not the credit to be gained from doing it.

No bathing at strange hours, no self-indulgent building projects, no concern for food, or the cut and color of his clothes, or having attractive slaves. (The robe from his farm at Lorium, most of the things at Lanuvium, the way he accepted the customs agent’s apology at Tusculum, etc.)

He never exhibited rudeness, lost control of himself, or turned violent. No one ever saw him sweat. Everything was to be approached logically and with due consideration, in a calm and orderly fashion but decisively, and with no loose ends.

You could have said of him (as they say of Socrates) that he knew how to enjoy and abstain from things that most people find it hard to abstain from and all too easy to enjoy. Strength, perseverance, self-control in both areas: the mark of a soul in readiness-indomitable.

(Maximus’s illness.)

17. The Gods

That I had good grandparents, a good mother and father, a good sister, good teachers, good servants, relatives, friends-almost without exception. And that I never lost control of myself with any of them, although I had it in me to do that, and I might have, easily. But thanks to the gods, I was never put in that position, and so escaped the test.

That I wasn’t raised by my grandfather’s girlfriend for longer than I was. That I didn’t lose my virginity too early, and didn’t enter adulthood until it was time-put it off, even.

That I had someone-as a ruler and as a father-who could keep me from being arrogant and make me realize that even at court you can live without a troop of bodyguards, and gorgeous clothes, lamps, sculpture-the whole charade. That you can behave almost like an ordinary person without seeming slovenly or careless as a ruler or when carrying out official obligations.

That I had the kind of brother I did. One whose character challenged me to improve my own. One whose love and affection enriched my life.

That my children weren’t born stupid or physically deformed.

That I wasn’t more talented in rhetoric or poetry, or other areas. If I’d felt that I was making better progress I might never have given them up.

That I conferred on the people who brought me up the honors they seemed to want early on, instead of putting them off (since they were still young) with the hope that I’d do it later.

That I knew Apollonius, and Rusticus, and Maximus.

That I saw was shown clearly and often what it would be like to live as nature requires. The gods did all they could-through their gifts, their help, their inspiration-to ensure that I could live as nature demands. And if I’ve failed, it’s no one’s fault but mine. Because I didn’t pay attention to what they told me-to what they taught me, practically, step by step.

That my body has held out, especially considering the life I’ve led.

That I never laid a finger on Benedicta or on Theodotus. And that even later, when I was overcome by passion, I recovered from it.

That even though I was often upset with Rusticus I never did anything I would have regretted later.

That even though she died young, at least my mother spent her last years with me.

That whenever I felt like helping someone who was short of money, or otherwise in need, I never had to be told that I had no resources to do it with. And that I was never put in that position myself-of having to take something from someone else.

That I have the wife I do: obedient, loving, humble.

That children had competent teachers.

Remedies granted through dreams-when I was coughing blood, for instance, and having fits of dizziness. And the one at Caieta.

That when I became interested in philosophy I didn’t fall into the hands of charlatans, and didn’t get bogged down in writing treatises, or become absorbed by logic-chopping, or preoccupied with physics.

All things for which “we need the help of fortune and the gods.”

The Internet Classics Archive | The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (mit.edu)

The post Book Summary: Meditations appeared first on Paminy - Information Resource for Marketing, Lifestyle, and Book Review.