Meditations: A New Translation

A series of spiritual exercises filled with practical guidance and profound understanding of human behavior, the Meditations remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus's insights and advice, on everything from coping with adversity to interacting with others, have made the Meditations required reading for statesmen, philosophers, and ordinary readers alike. For anyone who struggles to reconcile the demands of leadership with a concern for personal integrity and spiritual health, the Meditations remains as relevant now as it was two thousand years ago.

In Gregory Hays's new translation, the first in a generation, Marcus's thoughts speak with a new immediacy: Never have his words been more beautifully and directly presented. With an introduction that outlines Marcus's life and career and the essentials of Stoic doctrine, this new edition makes it possible to rediscover fully the thoughts of one of the most enlightened and intelligent rulers of any era.