The Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. Translated by Jeremy Collier. Translation edited by Alice Zimmern. Narrated by Denis Daly.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was the adopted son of the Emperor Antoninus Pius and ruled from 161 to 180. His Meditations or "discourses with himself" were written in Greek between 170 CE and 180 CE, mostly while he was on military campaigns.
Jeremy Collier's translation, while lacking the accuracy of the more famous translation by George Long, has a particular verve and color, imparting a vigor that is often lacking in the original text. The translation was later revised and corrected by Alice Zimmern, who makes the following comment in the introduction:
"The Stoic Emperor draws a noble moral from the transistoriness of our being. Not 'Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die,' is the teachings of the Meditations but rather, 'Let us use this life well, since we have no other.' The consolation for death must be sought in the consciousness of duty done. If we have lived well we should be content to die, no matter whether our years be many or few. Epicurus bade his followers depart from life as a guest from a banquet satisfied with his entertainment; the Stoics, in sterner language, bid us leave the stage as an actor who has performed his part."
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