Marcus Aurelius (Loeb Classical Library) [Hardcover]

With this edition, I now have eight different English translations of the Emperor's "diary." There's not much I can say about this version that I haven't already about the other seven.

For what it's worth, this is the most inspiring, through-provoking book I have ever come across, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who has wondered how a man who once held the highest seat of power in the world regarded topics like the meaning of life, the cause of anger and annoyance, and why it is important to remember your humanity in a world sadly lacking in humanity.

Scholars may feel otherwise, but I feel compelled to read as many translations as I can get, since I would rather not bother with learning classical Greek to read the original text.

Still, this is clearly one of the greatest works of philosophic thought available, by one of the leading proponents of the stoic school. And in light of recent events (the September terrorism in the U.S.), one should reflect carefully on the value of stoicism in one's life.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Since there are so many of these darn things the review shall be divided into three sections. First, a brief description of the Loeb series of books and their advantages/disadvantages. Second shall be my thoughts on the author himself, his accuracy, as well as his style and the style of his translator. This is of course only my opinion and should be treated as such. The final part shall review what this particular book actually covers.

The Loeb series date back to the turn of the last century. They are designed for people with at least some knowledge of Greek or Latin. They are a sort of compromise between a straight English translation and an annotated copy of the original text. On the left page is printed the text in Greek or Latin depending on the language of the writer and on the right side is the text in English. For somebody who knows even a little Greek or Latin these texts are invaluable. You can try to read the text in the original language knowing that you can correct yourself by looking on the next page or you can read the text in translation and check the translation with the original for more detail. While some of the translations are excellent mostly they are merely serviceable since they are designed more as an aid to translation rather than a translation in themselves. Most of them follow the Greek or Latin very closely. These books are also very small, maybe just over a quarter the size of your average hardcover book. This means that you'll need to buy more than just one book to read a complete work. They are also somewhat pricey considering their size. The Loeb Collection is very large but most of the more famous works can be found in better (and cheaper) translations elsewhere. If you want to read a rarer book or read one in the original language then you can't do better than the Loeb Editions.

Marcus Aurelius was the emperor of Rome in the second century AD. He was the last of the five "good" emperors and was succeeded by his mad son Commodus. If you've seen Gladiator you know who these people are. No, nothing in that movie was true. Marcus fancied himself something of a philosopher and followed the creed of stoicism. He spent most of his reign at war in Germania. His reign also saw a great plague sweep across the Roman Empire. He also seems (at least to me) to be a dull and lifeless fellow who puts more of his soul into philosophy and leaves none for earthly things.

Anyway, Marcus wrote some philosophical thoughts on his life and rule. This is them. This work is famous and useful in that it reveals the inner thoughts of a Roman Emperor. The only comparable documents are the writings of Julian (Volume I, Volume II, Volume III) who also considered himself a philosopher. Claudius also wrote a number of works, and Hadrian and a few other emperors actually wrote autobiographies but they haven't survived. Augustus had one engraved on tombs all over the empire but it was very brief. This edition is not the best translation. As some reviewers have commented the language is extremely outdated and archaic. I understand that he's trying to convey the way in which Aurelius wrote in pseudo-Athenian Greek but I feel that doing so by adding archaisms in English just adds a new level of distortion between the original and the translation. If I've given this book a low rating it is because I'm not fond of the book and I dislike the translation. I understand that it's a useful work but I just can't bring myself to like it.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Caesar; a name that could cause traffic jams. However, we are talking about a great man who recorded for posterity his inner most thoughts and his weaknesses. His legacy is his self doubt, self analysis and his belief in the enduring good of Mankind. Humble and realistic, this man was Emperor of Rome, take note Bush and Blair. I salute him.