Immediately Meditate

Author: Marcus Aurelius
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The Meditations possesses an extraordinary charm, being sweet, melancholic, and noble. This golden book bears the heavy burden of human existence with a dignified and unyielding spirit, directly helping people to live a better life. – (American) James Fadiman, A Lifetime of Reading Plan
Readers can easily perceive his moral integrity without having to sift through too much dross to extract the gold. There is little temporal or spatial distance between him and us. Although people may question, his moral vision is presented openly. – M. Arnold, Critical Essays
Marcus Aurelius inspires a simple yet profound belief: in the face of the universe and nature, a noble moral conscience remains unchangeable, regardless of race, nation, revolution, or any other flux or discovery. – (French) Paul Ricoeur
Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations is a landmark of eclecticism and religious Stoicism. – (German) Heinrich von Treitschke, History of Philosophy
This is not a trendy book but an enduring one. It may not be read immediately after purchase, but there will definitely be a time to read it. Nearly two thousand years ago, one person wrote it, and two thousand years later, others will still read it. – Professor He Huahong of Peking University
Marcus Aurelius reigned for nearly two decades, a period marked by continuous warfare and frequent disasters. Floods, earthquakes, plagues, wars with the Parthians in the East, the advance of the Marcomannians from the North along the Danube River, and internal rebellions all led to a decline in Rome’s population, deepened poverty, and economic stagnation. Even with his steadfast spirit and wisdom, and working tirelessly day and night, he could not halt the decline of the ancient Roman Empire. During most of his reign, especially in his last decade, he rarely stayed in Rome but spent his time on the empire’s frontiers or in the military camps of the provinces. The Meditations, this book written for himself, this dialogue with himself, was mostly composed during his arduous travels on horseback.
Marcus Aurelius married Fausta, daughter of Emperor Antoninus Pius, and had 11 children. It is said that he showed great magnanimity when a famous general, Cassius, who was the deputy commander in Syria, rebelled. However, he was relatively strict toward Christians and issued an edict against them. On March 17, AD 180, Marcus Aurelius died in Vindobona (Vienna) due to illness.