--- product_id: 1210868 title: "Meditations (Penguin Classics)" price: "€ 16.29" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1210868-meditations-penguin-classics store_origin: HR region: Croatia --- # 2,000 years of influence Timeless Stoic wisdom Expert translation & notes Meditations (Penguin Classics) **Price:** € 16.29 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📖 Own the mindset of an emperor—master resilience and leadership with Meditations. ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Meditations (Penguin Classics) - **How much does it cost?** € 16.29 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1210868-meditations-penguin-classics) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Risk-Free Purchase:** Guaranteed secure packaging and hassle-free returns ensure your satisfaction and peace of mind. - • **Practical Life Lessons:** Offers actionable insights on resilience, self-discipline, and leadership relevant to today’s professionals. - • **Philosophy That Transcends Time:** Marcus Aurelius’ reflections have inspired leaders and thinkers for nearly two millennia. - • **Same-Day Dispatch & Mint Condition:** Order before noon and receive your pristine copy swiftly, ready to elevate your personal library. - • **Authoritative Penguin Classics Edition:** Includes expert translation by Martin Hammond, detailed notes, and comprehensive indices for deep understanding. ## Overview Meditations (Penguin Classics) presents Marcus Aurelius’ profound Stoic philosophy in a clear, expertly translated edition. This timeless work offers practical reflections on virtue, leadership, and human nature, enriched with scholarly notes and indices. Perfect for professionals seeking wisdom to navigate modern challenges with resilience and clarity. ## Description A clear and eloquent leading translation of the Roman emperor’s reflections of human life and death, timeless Stoic philosophy that inspires countless others including The Daily Stoic author Ryan Holiday to use philosophy as a tool for self-improvement and resilience to live a better life Written in Greek by an intellectual Roman emperor without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a wide range of fascinating spiritual reflections and exercises developed as the leader struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe. Spanning from doubt and despair to conviction and exaltation, they cover such diverse topics as the question of virtue, human rationality, the nature of the gods and the values of leadership. But while the Meditations were composed to provide personal consolation, in developing his beliefs Marcus also created one of the greatest of all works of philosophy: a series of wise and practical aphorisms that have been consulted and admired by statesmen, thinkers and ordinary readers for almost two thousand years. To provide a full understanding of Aurelius's seminal work, this edition includes explanatory notes, a general index, an index of quotations, an index of names, and an introduction by Diskin Clay putting the work in its biographical, historical, and literary context, a chronology of Marcus Aurelius's life and career. Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. Review: Some thoughts on translations and on Marcus Aurelius. - What makes Meditations an important book is that it provides the opportunity to discuss what it is to be human, to have a soul, to live a good life with one of the most remarkable men in history. Before I get to that I want to second a suggestion made by several reviewers. Use two or more translations when you read the Meditations. I like this Penguin Classics edition. The introduction by Diskin Clay is useful, the translation by Martin Hammond is mostly accurate and his explanatory notes are very useful. There are some solid suggestions for further reading and several useful indices (of Names, of Quotations, and a General Index). My one qualm about the translation is that Hammond sometimes makes the book sound a little Christian. Hammond will use "sin" where other translators (like Farquharson or Frances Hutchinson) would use "impiety" or "harm". This is decidedly not a Christian text. There is nothing in Marcus Aurelius (MA) of final judgment. There is no reward or punishment for our actions in this life. MA suspends judgments on all sorts of issues. It is clear that he believes in gods and occasionally talks about God (see 12.2). But he also mentions many times the alternative belief that all is chance and that death will be followed by oblivion. It is essential to his ethics however that death is not followed by any sort of hell. Also worth thinking about is whether MA is a man whose philosophy is to be rejected (or, at least, radically modified) because it ultimately makes one less human. With MA, everything is to be thought through with the corrosive that is reason. We must not let our attachments cause us to lose sight of the truth. We may kiss our children good night but we must remind ourselves as we are doing so that they could be dead tomorrow (11.34 in Meditations- this bit of choice advice came from Epictetus)! One point about this is that there is a real conflict in MA with his idea that we should accept everything that the gods see fit to visit upon us (an idea expressed too many times to quote a single source) and his desire to not be effected by any of it. I would argue that true acceptance does not seek invulnerability. True confront embraces vulnerability and fully accepts the whole of our humanity. We have a choice about how we respond to our suffering. MA, at his best, is saying that and pointing out that we can not let our suffering control our actions. At his worst, he sometimes seems to be saying that we can chose not to feel our suffering. He is such a compelling writer that I think it is all too easy to read MA in a way that avoids how radical are some of his ideas. The desire of MA for some sort of emotional invulnerability is part and parcel of his rejection of quotidian experience. He does not seem to have liked or admired many of his contemporaries and he does not seem fond of the simple pleasures of life. His descriptions of sexuality are always mingled with tones of disgust. Where the Meditations may be most useful is when we are dealing with some sort of very extreme situation. There are two Naval Academy essays by John Stockdale about how he survived his imprisonment during the Vietnam War using the philosophy of Epictetus that delve into the full complexity of that philosophy. (These essays are referenced in the intro to the Penguin edition of Epictetus' writings. You can use the desertcart preview of that book to see the reference.) Does all this mean that I think you should not immediately run out and buy a copy of this book? NO, NO, a thousand times, NO. The Meditations is one of those few books that everyone should read for help in working out their own philosophy. We all have to come to grips with how we want to live our own lives, what values we want to honor and MA is one of the writers who will help you work that out. He belongs in the company of St. Augustine, of Montaigne, of Machiavelli, of Plato, and of the Buddha (among many others- this list is mine own). So, yes, read MA in the Hammond translation by all means. Remember that he wrote this book so that he would have constant and personal reminders to live up to his own philosophy. By reading this book, you may come to some understanding of what it would be like to live up to your own philosophy. Review: Incredible - Meditations is a powerful book that feels personal and real since it was basically Marcus Aurelius writing down thoughts to himself. The lessons about self-control, discipline, humility, and dealing with life’s struggles are timeless. Even though it’s philosophical, a lot of the advice is simple and easy to apply to everyday life. It’s the kind of book you can reread multiple times and still take something new from it. ## Features - New - Mint Condition - Dispatch same day for order received before 12 noon - Guaranteed packaging - No quibbles returns ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,178 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3 in Ancient Roman History (Books) #5 in Ancient Greek & Roman Philosophy #6 in Philosophy Movements (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 9,588 Reviews | ## Images ![Meditations (Penguin Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81DFDGzHZqL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Some thoughts on translations and on Marcus Aurelius. *by G***R on July 27, 2009* What makes Meditations an important book is that it provides the opportunity to discuss what it is to be human, to have a soul, to live a good life with one of the most remarkable men in history. Before I get to that I want to second a suggestion made by several reviewers. Use two or more translations when you read the Meditations. I like this Penguin Classics edition. The introduction by Diskin Clay is useful, the translation by Martin Hammond is mostly accurate and his explanatory notes are very useful. There are some solid suggestions for further reading and several useful indices (of Names, of Quotations, and a General Index). My one qualm about the translation is that Hammond sometimes makes the book sound a little Christian. Hammond will use "sin" where other translators (like Farquharson or Frances Hutchinson) would use "impiety" or "harm". This is decidedly not a Christian text. There is nothing in Marcus Aurelius (MA) of final judgment. There is no reward or punishment for our actions in this life. MA suspends judgments on all sorts of issues. It is clear that he believes in gods and occasionally talks about God (see 12.2). But he also mentions many times the alternative belief that all is chance and that death will be followed by oblivion. It is essential to his ethics however that death is not followed by any sort of hell. Also worth thinking about is whether MA is a man whose philosophy is to be rejected (or, at least, radically modified) because it ultimately makes one less human. With MA, everything is to be thought through with the corrosive that is reason. We must not let our attachments cause us to lose sight of the truth. We may kiss our children good night but we must remind ourselves as we are doing so that they could be dead tomorrow (11.34 in Meditations- this bit of choice advice came from Epictetus)! One point about this is that there is a real conflict in MA with his idea that we should accept everything that the gods see fit to visit upon us (an idea expressed too many times to quote a single source) and his desire to not be effected by any of it. I would argue that true acceptance does not seek invulnerability. True confront embraces vulnerability and fully accepts the whole of our humanity. We have a choice about how we respond to our suffering. MA, at his best, is saying that and pointing out that we can not let our suffering control our actions. At his worst, he sometimes seems to be saying that we can chose not to feel our suffering. He is such a compelling writer that I think it is all too easy to read MA in a way that avoids how radical are some of his ideas. The desire of MA for some sort of emotional invulnerability is part and parcel of his rejection of quotidian experience. He does not seem to have liked or admired many of his contemporaries and he does not seem fond of the simple pleasures of life. His descriptions of sexuality are always mingled with tones of disgust. Where the Meditations may be most useful is when we are dealing with some sort of very extreme situation. There are two Naval Academy essays by John Stockdale about how he survived his imprisonment during the Vietnam War using the philosophy of Epictetus that delve into the full complexity of that philosophy. (These essays are referenced in the intro to the Penguin edition of Epictetus' writings. You can use the Amazon preview of that book to see the reference.) Does all this mean that I think you should not immediately run out and buy a copy of this book? NO, NO, a thousand times, NO. The Meditations is one of those few books that everyone should read for help in working out their own philosophy. We all have to come to grips with how we want to live our own lives, what values we want to honor and MA is one of the writers who will help you work that out. He belongs in the company of St. Augustine, of Montaigne, of Machiavelli, of Plato, and of the Buddha (among many others- this list is mine own). So, yes, read MA in the Hammond translation by all means. Remember that he wrote this book so that he would have constant and personal reminders to live up to his own philosophy. By reading this book, you may come to some understanding of what it would be like to live up to your own philosophy. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Incredible *by X***N on May 12, 2026* Meditations is a powerful book that feels personal and real since it was basically Marcus Aurelius writing down thoughts to himself. The lessons about self-control, discipline, humility, and dealing with life’s struggles are timeless. Even though it’s philosophical, a lot of the advice is simple and easy to apply to everyday life. It’s the kind of book you can reread multiple times and still take something new from it. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Almost 2000 Years Old and Eerily Accurate to Todays World *by C***S on October 15, 2023* Synopsis: This is a book that everyone needs to read. This is the personal diary of the most important man in the Roman empire at the time it was written. This is the equivalent of being able to read the personal diary of todays world leaders, or top CEO's and understand their motivations and philosophies. This book does not take long to read, and you can plow through it in about a week with roughly 30 minutes of reading each day. Due to Marcus' philosophy, he does not use pretentious language, so the book is consumable by a wide audience. Overall, this book is certainly worth the read and it will change how you look at the world, yourself and your actions. The Book: Marcus was born in 121 AD and died in 180 AD, making his writings ~1,800 years old at the time of this review. Mediate on that for a bit...you're reading the personal diary from a Roman emperor who died almost 2000 years ago. We are incredibly privileged to be able to read such a historical masterpiece. The introduction from the translator is quite long, to the degree that I skipped it as he was consistently making references to the text, of which, I had not read yet. Mediations makes up the minority of the pages, with the majority being the introduction, then the rest being explanations of each verse. The explanations can be helpful in explaining the historical context. Here's a few heavily summarized topics discussed in the book as a preview: On Perception: Marcus made it his mission to look at the world objectively and for what it truly is, free of personal opinion or emotion. As long as what you were experiencing was within the bounds of what could be expected within the life of a human, it was your perception that made it pleasurable or painful. You could then change your perception on the issue and improve your life. On Religion: Despite being polytheistic, his philosophy on nature centers heavily on a type of worship of Gaia, coming very close to exalting her above Zeus. This is a very fine line he dances, always placing his trust in the Gods who had his best interest at heart, but also blending his knowledge of the natural world. Another peculiarity is that he frequently uses God in the singular form. On Nature: Nature has everyone and everything performing a specific task which contributes to the whole. To determine if something is good or bad, Marcus asks himself if it would harm the wider society. To illustrate, here is a quote from Marcus, "That which is not good for the beehive cannot be good for bees". On Time: Close to the end of the book, and to Marcus' death, he begins to reflect on his time spent on the earth. Marcus discusses how events repeat themselves and that 40 years of studying the natural world is enough. This is an extremely profound realization, since the reader can draw many parallels from his life, to our modern lives. He makes the bold claim that things never change, and time has proved him right. Marcus eventually died at 58 years of age. ## Frequently Bought Together - Meditations (Penguin Classics) - Discourses and Selected Writings (Penguin Classics) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1210868-meditations-penguin-classics](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/1210868-meditations-penguin-classics) --- *Product available on Desertcart Croatia* *Store origin: HR* *Last updated: 2026-06-21*