The emperor-philosopher; a first glimpse of the "Meditations"; the "Meditations" as spiritual exercises; the philosopher-slave and the emperor-philosopher; the stoicism of Epictetus; the inner citadel, or the discipline of assent; the dicipline of desire or Amor Fati; the discipline of action, or action in the service of mankind; virtue and joy; Marcus Aurelius in his "Meditations".
Because both translator and author are contemporaries, discussions
between them contributed to an excellent and faithful
translation....[Hadot argues] that "The "Meditations" of Marcus
Aurelius" must be understood primarily as a 'philosophical' work
not in the sense of speculative philosophy, but as philosophy that
represents a way of life in the tradition of the Stoics...This is
an excellent study of the "Meditations". -- P. A. Streveler
"Choice"
In "The Inner Citadel", Hadot applies to Marcus Aurelius'
"Meditations" his characteristic interpretive approach: treating
ancient philosophy as a 'way of life, ' in particular one which
provides its students with 'spiritual exercises' to enable them to
make progress towards wisdom, and treating ancient philosophical
texts with attention to the 'forms of discourse, ' or constraints
of genre, tradition, and audience that affected their
production..."The Inner Citadel" is a rich and substantial book and
will certainly affect future scholarship on Marcus Aurelius. --
Rachana Kemtekur "Bryn Mawr Classical Review"
Pierre Hadot, Professeur Honoraire of the College de France, aims
in "The Inner Citadel" to discover what the emperor wanted to
accomplish by writing [the "Meditations"]...The book he has written
(published in French in 1992) achieves these aims superbly while
also offering a broad introduction to the intellectual world of the
second century...Through his analysis of the "Meditations", Hadot
exposes to our view the mind of those who ruled the Roman world at
the height of its prosperity. -- Kenneth D. Bratt "Calvin
Theological Journal"
"The "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius" has been a popular text
since the sixteenth century, and is a vital source in understanding
the ideas of the Stoic School. Hadot seeks to demonstrate the
context and background to Marcus Aurelius's writings, and helps to
explain them to a modern readership. He makes the crucial point
that Stoics considered the sole purpose of studying philosophy was
to improve one's moral conduct. Hence Marcus's writings are in the
form of a personal journal designed to develop the practice of
acting morally and reflectively...Throughout the book Hadot
stresses the depth of Stoic thought, and the interest it holds for
modern philosophy...I would particularly recommend this book to
those whose education in Ancient Philosophy has centred on Plato
and Aristotle, and who are interested in finding out how their
ideas were developed by later philosophers. -- Matthew Clark "JACT
Review"
Hadot probes Marcus Aurelius's guidelines and convictions and
discerns the until now unperceived conceptual system that grounds
them. Abundantly quoting the "Meditations" to illustrate his
analysis, he allows Marcus Aurelius to speak directly to us. Hadot
unfolds for us the general philosophical context of the
"Meditations," commenting on the philosophers Marcus Aurelius read
and giving special attention to the teachings of Epictetus, whom
Marcus followed closely...Hadot's study offers a fresh picture of
the fascinating philosopher-emperor, a fuller understanding of
theories and doctrines of Stoicism, and rich insight on the culture
of the Roman empire in the second century. Hadot has been working
on Marcus Aurelius for more than twenty years; in this book he
distills his analysis and conclusions with extraordinary lucidity
for the general reader and specialist.
Plato used to talk of philosopher-kings; Marcus Aurelius was
something even better: He was a philosopher-emperor. The leader of
the Roman Empire spent most of his life in troubling times,
campaigning against the barbarians, dealing with conspiracy at
home, even combatting an upstart cult that revered one of those
Galilean wonder-workers. Yet the most powerful man in the world
still managed to live the life of a Stoic, and to record his
reflections on how we should live. Those meditations, as these
inner pep talks are usually called, became one of the best-loved
books of antiquity...This study--by a leading authority on
Marcus--provides background matter and analysis of the main themes
in the "Meditations," as well as fresh translations of many of the
sayings.
The power and vigour of H.'s interpretation derive partly from his
belief in the importance and continuing value of Stoic philosophy
at least broadly interpreted in terms of a stoic outlook on
life...In this book, as in his work as a whole, he sets a demanding
standard, and an example which we can all applaud. -- R. B.
Rutherford "Classical Review"
In The Inner Citadel, Hadot applies to Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
his characteristic interpretive approach: treating ancient
philosophy as a 'way of life, ' in particular one which provides
its students with 'spiritual exercises' to enable them to make
progress towards wisdom, and treating ancient philosophical texts
with attention to the 'forms of discourse, ' or constraints of
genre, tradition, and audience that affected their production...
The Inner Citadel is a rich and substantial book and will certainly
affect future scholarship on Marcus Aurelius.
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius has been a popular text since
the sixteenth century, and is a vital source in understanding the
ideas of the Stoic School. Hadot seeks to demonstrate the context
and background to Marcus Aurelius's writings, and helps to explain
them to a modern readership. He makes the crucial point that Stoics
considered the sole purpose of studying philosophy was to improve
one's moral conduct. Hence Marcus's writings are in the form of a
personal journal designed to develop the practice of acting morally
and reflectively...Throughout the book Hadot stresses the depth of
Stoic thought, and the interest it holds for modern philosophy...I
would particularly recommend this book to those whose education in
Ancient Philosophy has centred on Plato and Aristotle, and who are
interested in finding out how their ideas were developed by later
philosophers.
In "The Inner Citadel," Hadot applies to Marcus Aurelius'
"Meditations" his characteristic interpretive approach: treating
ancient philosophy as a 'way of life, ' in particular one which
provides its students with 'spiritual exercises' to enable them to
make progress towards wisdom, and treating ancient philosophical
texts with attention to the 'forms of discourse, ' or constraints
of genre, tradition, and audience that affected their
production..."The Inner Citadel" is a rich and substantial book and
will certainly affect future scholarship on Marcus Aurelius. --
Rachana Kemtekur "Bryn Mawr Classical Review"
"The "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius has been a popular text since
the sixteenth century, and is a vital source in understanding the
ideas of the Stoic School. Hadot seeks to demonstrate the context
and background to Marcus Aurelius' writings, and helps to explain
them to a modern readership. He makes the crucial point that Stoics
considered the sole purpose of studying philosophy was to improve
one's moral conduct. Hence Marcus' writings are in the form of a
personal journal designed to develop the practice of acting morally
and reflectively...Throughout the book Hadot stresses the depth of
Stoic thought, and the interest it holds for modern philosophy...I
would particularly recommend this book to those whose education in
Ancient Philosophy has centred on Plato and Aristotle, and who are
interested in finding out how their ideas were developed by later
philosophers.
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