Meditations: Book 1 Discussion

By VioletHeron15

I went into Book 1 with basically no background on Marcus Aurelius, so I was wondering if your copy had more of a life intro—like the Gutenberg one does. Also, how did you find the writing style in Book 1? The whole Stoic thing about not having passion (or at least not letting it run you) feels like a big deal here… but could I actually live like that without my usual feelings? And I noticed the part about a prince being able to live humbly and not show off wealth—was that a totally different vibe from what you’re used to seeing about royalty? A couple lines stuck out too, especially: “true moderation and sobriety in either estate” and the idea that we’re all meant to work together like body parts, and being against that is “against nature.” I also liked the “life is like a wind” comparison, but I’m not sure I fully get what it’s trying to do—did you? Oh, and this last bit about “thirst after books” kind of surprised me. Are we supposed to be thankful and meek instead of getting upset and complaining? I don’t know, but it definitely made me pause.