Meditations was my first foray into ancient philosophy but I do believe that I struck gold directly. This book offers both a fascinating insight into the life and mind of one of the most powerful men in the history of the world (Marcus Aurelius was a roman emperor) and a refreshing way to look at life. It’s the latter of those two that makes me consider making reading this book a yearly commitment.
Given both the age and the subject of the book it is surprisingly accessible (partly this should be credited to the excellent translation by Martin Hammond) and since most of the philosophical content focuses on the view of “self” it is still applicable even though the book was written a few thousand years ago.
The book is not written as fiction, which forced me to alter my reading habits to be able to fully understand the meaning of the content. I found that reading a few pages each night and reflecting on the content during the following day was a good way understand the philosophical concepts.
Finally I would recommend this book to anyone interested in philosophy or roman history.