Cambridge Companion to Marcus Aurelius'' Meditations

The Meditations of the second-century Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius is consistently one of the best-selling philosophy books among the general public. Over the years it has also attracted famous admirers, from the Prussian king Frederick the Great to US President Bill Clinton. It continues to attract large numbers of new readers, drawn to its reflections on life and death. Despite this, it is not the sort of text read much by professional philosophers or even, until recently, taken especially seriously by specialists in ancient philosophy. It is a highly personal, easily accessible, yet deceptively simple work. This volume, written by leading experts and aimed at non-specialists, examines the central philosophical ideas in the work and assesses the extent to which Marcus is committed to the philosophy of Stoicism. It also considers how we ought to read this unique work and explores its influence from its first printed publication to today.

About the author

JOHN SELLARS is Reader in the History of Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is also Associate Editor for the Ancient Commentators on Aristotle project at King's College London. His recent books include Marcus Aurelius (2021) and Hellenistic Philosophy (2018).

Product details

• Authors: John (Royal Holloway Sellars
• Assisted by: John Sellars (Editor)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.03.2025
• EAN: 9781108940627
• ISBN: 978-1-108-94062-7
• No. of pages: 344
• Series: Cambridge Companions to Literature
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Ancient History, Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500, Ancient, classical and medieval texts