.jpg) Editio princeps byWilhelm Xylander in 1558 | |
| Author | Marcus Aurelius |
|---|---|
| Original title | Unknown, probably untitled |
| Language | Koine Greek |
| Publication place | Roman Empire |
Meditations (Koine Greek:Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν,romanized: Ta eis heauton,lit. ''Things Unto Himself'') is a series of personal writings byMarcus Aurelius,Roman Emperor from 161–180 CE, recording his private notes to himself and ideas onStoic philosophy.
Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of theMeditations inKoine Greek[1] as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement.[2] It is possible that large portions of the work were written atSirmium, where he spent much time planning military campaigns in AD 170–180. A portion of his work was written while he was positioned atAquincum on campaign inPannonia, because internal notes reveal that the first book was written when he was campaigning against theQuadi on the river Granova (modern-dayHron inSlovakia) and the second book was written atCarnuntum.
It is unlikely that Marcus Aurelius ever intended the writings to be published. The work has no official title, so "Meditations" is one of several titles commonly assigned to the collection. These writings take the form of quotations varying in length from one sentence to long paragraphs.
TheMeditations is divided into 12 books that chronicle different periods of Aurelius' life. The passages in each book are not necessarily in chronological order, seeing as they were written as Aurelius' own personal musings. The style of writing that permeates the text is one that is simplified, straightforward, and perhaps reflecting Aurelius'Stoic perspective.
A central theme toMeditations is the importance of analyzing one's judgment of self and others and developing a cosmic perspective:[3]
You have the power to strip away many superfluous troubles located wholly in your judgment, and to possess a large room for yourself embracing in thought the whole cosmos, to consider everlasting time, to think of the rapid change in the parts of each thing, of how short it is from birth until dissolution, and how the void before birth and that after dissolution are equally infinite.
Aurelius advocates finding one's place in the universe and sees that everything came from nature, and so everything shall return to it in due time. Another strong theme is of maintaining focus and to be without distraction all the while maintaining strong ethical principles such as "Being a good man."[4]
His Stoic ideas often involve avoiding indulgence in sensory affections, a skill which will free a man from the pains and pleasures of the material world. He claims that the only way a man can be harmed by others is to allow his reaction to overpower him. An internal orderly and rational nature, orlogos, permeates and guides all existence.Rationality andclear-mindedness allow one to live in harmony with thelogos. This allows one to rise above faulty perceptions of "good" and "bad"—things out of one's control like fame and wealth are (unlike things in one's control) irrelevant and neither good nor bad.
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The early history of theMeditations is unknown, and its earliest clear mention by another writer dates from the early 10th century.[5] The historianHerodian, writing in the mid-3rd century, makes mention of Marcus' literary legacy, saying "He was concerned with all aspects of excellence, and in his love of ancient literature he was second to no man, Roman or Greek; this is evident from all his sayings and writings which have come down to us", a passage which may refer to theMeditations. TheHistoria Augusta's biography ofAvidius Cassius, thought to have been written in the 4th century, records that before Marcus set out on theMarcomannic Wars, he was asked to publish hisPrecepts of Philosophy in case something should befall him, but he instead "for three days discussed the books of hisExhortations one after the other".[6] A doubtful mention is made by the oratorThemistius in about 364 C.E. In an address to the emperorValens,On Brotherly Love, he says: "You do not need the exhortations (Greek:παραγγέλματα) of Marcus."[7] Another possible reference, in theGreek Anthology, is an epigram dedicated to "the Book of Marcus," which has been attributed to the 7th centuryByzantine scholarTheophylact Simocatta.[8]
The first direct mention of the work comes fromArethas of Caesarea (c. 860–935), a bishop who was a great collector of manuscripts.[9] At some date before 907 he sent a volume of theMeditations to Demetrius,Archbishop of Heracleia [it], with a letter saying: "I have had for some time an old copy of the Emperor Marcus' most profitable book, so old indeed that it is altogether falling to pieces.… This I have had copied and am able to hand down to posterity in its new dress."[10] Arethas also mentions the work in marginal notes (scholia) to books byLucian andDio Chrysostom where he refers to passages in the "Treatise to Himself" (Greek:τὰ εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἠθικά), and it was this title which the book bore in the manuscript from which the first printed edition was made in the 16th century.[11][12] Arethas' own copy has now vanished, but it is thought to be the likely ancestor of the surviving manuscripts.[10] The next mention of theMeditations is in theSuda lexicon published in the late 10th century.[11] TheSuda calls the work "a directing (Greek:ἀγωγή) of his own life by Marcus the Emperor in twelve books,"[12] which is the first mention of a division of the work into twelve books.[11] TheSuda makes use of some thirty quotations taken from books I, III, IV, V, IX, and XI.[12] Around 1150,John Tzetzes, a grammarian of Constantinople, quotes passages from Books IV and V attributing them to Marcus.[12] About 200 years laterNicephorus Callistus (c. 1295–1360) in hisEcclesiastical History writes that "Marcus Antoninus composed a book for the education of his son Marcus [i.e.Commodus], full of all worldly (Greek:κοσμικῆς) experience and instruction."[12][13] TheMeditations is thereafter quoted in many Greek compilations from the 14th to 16th centuries.[13] This, specifically after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, as it was among the Greek texts reintroduced by fleeing scholars to European intellectual circles.[14]
The present-day text is based almost entirely upon two manuscripts. One is theCodex Palatinus (P), also known as theCodex Toxitanus (T), that was first published in 1558–59 but is now lost.[15] The other manuscript is theCodex Vaticanus 1950 (A) in theVatican Library,[15] which passed there from the collection ofStefano Gradi in 1683.[16] This is a 14th-century manuscript which survives in a very corrupt state, and about forty-two lines have dropped out by accidental omissions.[15][17] Other manuscripts are of little independent value for reconstructing the text.[18] The main ones are theCodex Darmstadtinus 2773 (D) with 112 extracts from books I–IX, and theCodex Parisinus 319 (C) with 29 extracts from Books I–IV.[15]
The modern history of theMeditations dates from the issue of the first printed edition (editio princeps) byWilhelm Xylander in 1558 or 1559.[19] It was published at the instigation ofConrad Gesner and printed by his cousin Andreas Gesner atZürich.[19] The book was bound with a work byMarinus (Proclus vel De Felicitate, also a first edition).[19] To theMeditations was added a Latin translation by Xylander who also included brief notes.[19] Conrad Gesner stated in his dedicatory letter that he "received the books of Marcus from the gifted poetMichael Toxites from the library ofOtto Heinrich, Prince Palatine", i.e. from the collection atHeidelberg University.[19] The importance of this edition of theMeditations is that the manuscript from which it was printed is now lost, so that it is one of the two principal sources of all modern texts.[19]Gilbert Murray compares the work toJean-Jacques Rousseau'sConfessions andSt. Augustine'sConfessions.[20] In the Introduction to his 1964 translation ofMeditations, the Anglican priestMaxwell Staniforth discussed the profound impact ofStoicism onChristianity.[21] Rees (1992) calls theMeditations "unendingly moving and inspiring," but does not offer them up as works of original philosophy, though he does find an element of Marcus' Stoic philosophy in the philosophical system ofImmanuel Kant.[22]
Wen Jiabao, the former Prime Minister of China, has said that he has read theMeditations a hundred times. He also stated that he was "very deeply impressed" by the work.[23] It has been described as "a favorite" of former United States PresidentBill Clinton.[24]
Theeditio princeps (first print edition) of the original Greek was published byConrad Gessner and his cousin Andreas in 1559. Both it and the accompanying Latin translation were produced byWilhelm Xylander. His source was a manuscript fromHeidelberg University, provided byMichael Toxites. By 1568, when Xylander completed his second edition, he no longer had access to the source and it has been lost ever since.[25][26] The first English translation was published in 1634 byMeric Casaubon.
Some popular English translations include:
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The Thoughts Of The Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. translated byGeorge Long, atWikisource
The Meditations public domain audiobook atLibriVox