Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Paperback – February 15, 2019

wonderful book though

Great Purchase

Purchased as a gift, no other comment.

Owned this before and lost it. No longer in print in the pocket book edition; get one while you can.

This is not the whole book. It is 60 pages and the translation is not great. They did send a refund which is why I didn’t give it one star but make sure you are aware this is abridged if that’s what you’re looking for.

In complete unabridged editions, Books 11 and 12 together have 75 entries (or "chapters," 39 and 36 respectively. This Peter Pauper Press edition has only 10 entries or "chapters" from those last two books represented, 4 and 6 respectively. Sometimes the order of what is included is changed; where a later entry is placed earlier, or an earlier one appears later. Sometimes what appears like it might be an entire entry is actually several combined, as is the case of the very first entry from Book 1 - which is three entries combined into one. Some entries are left incomplete.There are 488 separate entries in Marcus Aurelius' notebooks - this edition only has 151, give or take, as some are not completely represented and some are combined, so it's difficult to tell. None are numbered as to book and entry either as they are in standard editions: e.g., 4.2 [Book 4. Entry No.2] - 5.29 - 8.45.George Long's 1862 translation is probably archaic and difficult for contemporary readers, although it is beautiful and quaint like the K.J.V. Bible. Matthew Arnold wrote in 1863 after generally praising the scholarly faithfulness and accuracy of Long's translation: that unfortunately it "is not quite idiomatic and simple enough... Small as these matters appear, they are important when one has to deal with the general public, and not with a small group of scholars." This was a response about the general readership over 150 years ago, imagine how awkward the language is now. Understanding and comprehension are also complicated because so many of the entries are omitted.The Donald Robertson/Tom Butler-Bowden Capstone edition of George Long's translation very slightly modernizes his language "without affecting the meaning." It also has a good but short introduction. Each entry is numbered to ease comparison with other translations. I'd recommend it, as well as Robin Waterfield's Basic Books edition which I think is even better, the best I've read to date.At least this was inexpensive but I still wouldn't bother with it. It's a poor introduction and does a major disservice to one of the most honorable emperors of ancient Rome.The two photos are from pages 40 and 41. The entries are from Book 7 - 7.29, 7.34, 7.37, 7.49, 7.46, and 7.59. Lots of omissions, and 7.46 appears AFTER 7.49. I cross-referenced them with Robertson's Capstone edition.Nowhere in the book, neither inside nor on the covers, does it give any indication that this volume is a radical abridgement containing only about 1/3rd of the complete text. In several places it states in a deliberately misleading fashion, "Meditations of Marcus Aurelius in the Translation of George Long." That is indefensible, reprehensible, and shows a complete lack of integrity in publishing.This should be taken off the market until it is properly and honestly edited.

Excellent size for breast pocket carry. Newer prints from this publisher are too big for it. Copies from this 1993 series are perfect for on-the-go Meditations.