Library / Philosophy

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

Prepare each morning for difficult people and answer them calmly. The private notes a Roman emperor wrote to himself, to read chapter by chapter and talk through with a tutor.

Reading: 12 chapters
Format: Text + tutor
Price: $4.99

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About the book

A work to return to, not to consume.

Meditations was never meant to be published. These are the notes Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome, left for himself, many of them written on military campaign, to correct himself and keep his bearings. There is no system and no linear argument: there are reminders, patiently repeated, about what is up to you and what is not, how to treat the people who irritate you and why the present is the only thing you can truly lose. The book opens with a list of thanks to the people who shaped him and moves through twelve short books where the same questions keep returning: how to get up with a purpose, how to bear pain and change, how to stop arguing about what a good person is and be one. It is Stoicism lived by someone with great power and many worries, written in a quiet voice.

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Answers from this edition and says when it interprets beyond a quote.

Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial.

Marcus Aurelius · — Chapter 2

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Inside the book

Chapters

01
Book I16 min read
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02
Book II11 min read
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03
Book III13 min read
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04
Book IV20 min read
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05
Book V21 min read
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06
Book VI21 min read
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07
Book VII25 min read
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08
Book VIII22 min read
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09
Book IX21 min read
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10
Book X24 min read
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11
Book XI19 min read
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12
Book XII16 min read
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The author

Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius (121–180 CE) ruled the Roman Empire for nearly two decades marked by wars on the Danube frontier, a great epidemic and the revolt of one of his generals. Trained in Stoic philosophy from a young age, he wrote these notes in Greek, for himself, with no intention of publishing them. They survived his death and are now one of the most widely read works of practical philosophy in the world.

Questions

Do I need to know Stoicism to read it?

No. Each book is short and stands on its own. If something feels obscure, the tutor explains it with examples from your own day.

Am I really talking with Marcus Aurelius?

No. The conversation is an AI recreation* inspired by the text: it is not Marcus Aurelius and it can be wrong. Use it to think the book through, not as the author's own word.

How much does it cost?

The book costs US$4.99, or it comes included in ChaTutor Plus. You can read the opening of chapter 1 without signing up. A free account unlocks the whole chapter, the tutor and a full book free every week.

Is the book complete?

Yes: the complete text, chapter by chapter, in English and Spanish.

* AI recreation. Not the author; it may contain errors.