AURELIUS, Marcus (Emperor of Rome, 121–180 A.D.). Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself: An English Translation with Introductory Study on Stoicism and the Last of the Stoics. Translated by Gerald H. Rendall. London: George Bell & Sons, 1898.

Large 8vo. Original publisher's quarter vellum and cream cloth. cxlvi, 193 pp. First edition of the Rendall translation.

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is nowadays instantly recognised as a classic text and remains a best-seller. However, its origins point to a much more quaint intention for the text. Written in Greek, in private, during military campaigns on Rome's northern frontier in the 170s A.D., it was never intended for publication. The survival of the private and fledgling text remains a tale of fortune.

What Marcus Aurelius wrote in those notebooks was a sustained attempt to hold himself to account — to apply Stoic philosophy not as intellectual exercise but as daily practice, a reminder to himself, repeated across twelve books, of what it meant to act well in conditions that made it very difficult. The result is a document of extraordinary moral seriousness and psychological honesty, addressed to no audience and performing for no one, which is precisely why it continues to be read with a sense of intimacy that no other ancient text quite matches. 

Very good. Covers show some markings and spotting. Endpapers toned. A few marks in purple ink to contents; otherwise near fine, bright and fresh throughout.

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Catalogue Number: HH000384