Cambridge University Press The Cambridge Companion to Marcus Aurelius' Meditations (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

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.