Beginner question
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations: which translation should I read?
Reading order
Meditations (tr. Gregory Hays)
Marcus Aurelius
Plainest modern English; the one most online quotes use.
256 pp≈6 h●○○ GentleRead this first: Dip in: a few entries a day, any order.
Edition: Modern Library · ISBN 9780812968255
Meditations (tr. Martin Hammond, Penguin)
Marcus Aurelius
More literal, with notes. Use it to check passages.
254 pp≈6 h●●○ SteadyEdition: Penguin Books · ISBN 9780140449334
Letters from a Stoic
Seneca
Next step: warmer, practical letters.
254 pp≈6 h●○○ GentleRead this first: Letters are short and standalone; skip around.
Edition: Penguin · ISBN 9780140442106
Discourses and Selected Writings
Epictetus
The teacher Marcus learned from.
400 pp≈10 h●●○ SteadyRead this first: Read the short Handbook (Enchiridion) inside it first.
Edition: Penguin Books Ltd · ISBN 9780140449464
Which translation or edition?
Our pick: Hays for a first read, then Hammond (or Waterfield's annotated edition) for closer reading. r/Stoicism regulars like Hays's English but warn it sometimes shifts the meaning; Hammond and Hard are praised for accuracy, and Long is called archaic.
Same passage, two public-domain translations (Book 2.1):
George Long (1862): Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil.
Meric Casaubon (1634, revised): Betimes in the morning say to thyself, This day I shalt have to do with an idle curious man, with an unthankful man, a railer, a crafty, false, or an envious man; an unsociable uncharitable man. All these ill qualities have happened unto them, through ignorance of that which is truly good and truly bad.
Sources: Project Gutenberg #15877 (Long) and #2680 (Casaubon). Hays and Hammond are in copyright, so we don't quote them; compare previews.
Where people get stuck
- 'Is it hard to read?' The old free translations (Long, Casaubon) are why people think so.
- It's a private journal, not a textbook, so it repeats itself. Read a few entries a day.
- Hays reads beautifully, but r/Stoicism users say he's less faithful in places.
FAQ
Is the free Long translation OK?
Accurate but Victorian. Fine if you like 'thee/thou'; otherwise pay for a modern one.
Should I read Meditations first?
For many it's the entry point, but r/Stoicism and others often suggest Epictetus or Seneca for the actual system. Either works.