Meditations (Collins Classics)

Name: Meditations (Collins Classics)
Rating: 4.1 (137 reviews)
Author: Unknown Author
ISBN: 9780008425029

by Unknown Author

4.1

(137 ratings)

256 pages2020HarperCollins Publishers LimitedISBN 9780008425029

Biography History Philosophy

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About this book

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Tranquility is nothing else than the good ordering of the mind The extraordinary writings of Marcus Aurelius (CE 121-180), the only Roman emperor to have also been a Stoic philosopher, have for centuries been praised for their wisdom, insight and guidance by leaders and great thinkers alike. Never intended for publication, Meditations are the personal notes of a warrior-king studying his unique position of power, surrounded by loss and human fragility. Boldly confronting many of our greatest questions, Meditations wrestles with the complexities of human nature, rationality and moral virtue. This timeless and significant text will provide both inspiration and comfort to the twenty-first-century reader.

Publication Details

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Published: 2020
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9780008425029
Language: en

About Unknown Author

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. During his reign, the empire defeated a revitalized Parthian Empire; Aurelius' general Avidius Cassius sacked the capital Ctesiphon in 164. Aurelius fought the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians with success during the Marcomannic Wars, but the threat of the Germanic Tribes began to represent a troubling reality for the empire. A revolt in the east led by Avidius Cassius failed to gain momentum and was suppressed immediately. Marcus Aurelius' work Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty. It serves as an example of how Aurelius approached the Platonic ideal of a philosopher-king and how he symbolized much of what was best about Roman civilization.