Meditations: A New Translation
I can have a pretty antagonistic relationship with philosophy, tending as it does to waffle on in circles about vague abstractions, or repeating itself into redundancy.
I took a philosophy in and of literature course in college and had to restrain myself from violence with each comparison of anything and everything with Plato's cave and the "invalidation" of every well-reasoned, thoughtful discussion with "But what if it's a dream?" "How do you know you're not a brain in a jar?" or some other variation on that idiocy.
Yes, yes, Rousseau was onto something there and Plato was visionary. But can't we move past that premise for just a second and have a discussion that gets us somewhere? Hmm?
Anyway, since I took that class I've approached any philosophical work with reluctance, but after reading 'Memoirs of Hadrian' this summer my early interest in Roman history (and classical cultures in general) was rekindled. Marcus Aurelius' 'Meditations' was lauded in the introduction so I've been keeping an eye open for it.
A few weeks ago a coworker heard me mention it as a 'to-read' and without my asking brought it back after his lunch break. Now there's enthusiasm.
Now pleasantly obligated to read it, I read Hayes' translation that night and was intrigued. Once I started reading it in earnest I was hooked into the frank simplicity of the book. There is repetition here to be sure, and cryptic references lost on us modern folk, but these are the personal crib notes of a Roman Emperor. How cool is that?
In history we're not always given a choice about what's survived and often it's the lowest common denominator that's survived the ages.
Our prime resource for the biographies of the Roman Emperor's is the Historia Augusta which is more often than not referred to as 'gossipy.' It's the equivalent of 'People' magazine compiling a history of the presidency of the United States, in turns flattering or abusive.
The only contemporary record of the Khmer Empire is 'A Record of Cambodia: The Land and Its People' written as a diplomatic report by the Chinese Ambassador - but the copy that's survived is the condensed edition containing only the highlights and "weird" bits.
What I'm getting at is how fantastic it is that these notes of Aurelius' have survived and reveal him to be such an ordinary, conflicted man. This is only emphasized by Gregory Hays' brilliant modern translation that removes the antiquity from Aurelius' observations.
Many of the entries are recognized as quotations from other ancient authors, quotations from plays and epics, paraphrased accounts from Plato and Socrates, tantalizing references to lost works and anecdotes, etc. But there is plenty that seems to have come straight from Marcus Aurelius' own head. The recurrent theme is of persistence, honesty, forgiveness and gratitude and reminders to stay humble among extravagant people.
You may read this and find nothing revelatory, nothing grand, but its this works' unassuming normalcy that gets under my skin. Here is the blood and bones of history: the constant realization, both comforting and disquieting, that humanity for all its progress and tribulations is as smart, insecure, witty and impatient as it ever was.
