The timeless wisdom of an ancient Stoic can
become a companion
for your own spiritual journey.
Stoicism is often portrayed as a
cheerless, stiff-upper-lip philosophy of suffering and doom.
Yet as experienced through the thoughtful and penetrating
writings of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121–180 CE),
the Stoic approach to life is surprisingly rich, nuanced,
clear-eyed and friendly.
With facing-page commentary that explains
the texts for you, Russell McNeil, PhD, guides you through key
passages from Aurelius’s Meditations, comprised of the
emperor’s collected personal journal entries, to uncover
the startlingly modern relevance his words have today. From
devotion to family and duty to country, to a near-prophetic
view of the natural world that aligns with modern physics,
Aurelius’s words speak as potently today as they
did two millennia ago.
Now you can discover the tenderness,
intelligence and honesty of Aurelius’s writings with no
previous background in philosophy or the classics. This
SkyLight Illuminations edition offers insightful and engaging
commentary that explains the historical background of Stoicism,
as well as the ways this ancient philosophical system can offer
psychological and spiritual insight into your contemporary
life. You will be encouraged to explore and challenge
Aurelius’s ideas of what makes a fulfilling
life—and in so doing you may discover new ways of
perceiving happiness.
“A stirring reinterpretation of
Aurelius’s Stoicism for our time. In Russell McNeil,
Marcus Aurelius has at last met the colleague he has sorely
needed for almost two millennia: a sensitive and systematic
editor, and a loyal and lucid commentator.”
—John
Black, professor of philosophy and
liberal studies,
Malaspina University-College
“Marcus Aurelius was one of
humanity’s great inquirers…. Russell McNeil’s
revised and annotated version of George Long’s classic
translation of Meditations reintroduces us to the genius of
Marcus Aurelius at a time when wisdom is rare and free inquiry
rarer still.”
—Rabbi
Rami Shapiro, author of The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Preparing to
Practice
“I came to this book expecting to
read something that was vaguely good for me and as dull as
paint; instead I found Aurelius—at once immensely
likeable and helpful—and Dr. McNeil's fine introduction
to the author and comments on his Meditations. That McNeil uses
prose as lucid as Aurelius recommends only added to my pleasure
in reading.”
—Rev.
Bert Ramsey, United Church of
Canada minister
Russell McNeil, PhD, is a popular lecturer on the classics. He has been a
columnist and commentator in newspaper, radio and television,
and is founder and Web editor of Malaspina Great Books series,
one of the largest Web resources for classic literature. He is
a former professor at Malaspina University-College in British
Columbia.
George Long
(1800–1879) was a British classical scholar. He held
professorships in Greek and Latin at the University of London
and the University of Virginia. His translation of Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius was published in 1862 and is considered the gold
standard of Aurelius translations.
