The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius by Pierre Hadot (PDF)

Description

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius are treasured today–as they have been over the centuries–as an inexhaustible source of wisdom. And as one of the three most important expressions of Stoicism, this is an essential text for everyone interested in ancient religion and philosophy. Yet the clarity and ease of the work’s style are deceptive. Pierre Hadot, eminent historian of ancient thought, uncovers new levels of meaning and expands our understanding of its underlying philosophy.Written by the Roman emperor for his own private guidance and self-admonition, the Meditations set forth principles for living a good and just life. Hadot probes Marcus Aurelius’s guidelines and convictions and discerns the hitherto unperceived conceptual system that grounds them. Abundantly quoting the Meditations to illustrate his analysis, the author allows Marcus Aurelius to speak directly to the reader. And Hadot unfolds for us the philosophical context of the Meditations, commenting on the philosophers Marcus Aurelius read and giving special attention to the teachings of Epictetus, whose disciple he was.The soul, the guiding principle within us, is in Marcus Aurelius’s Stoic philosophy an inviolable stronghold of freedom, the “inner citadel.” This spirited and engaging study of his thought offers a fresh picture of the fascinating philosopher-emperor, a fuller understanding of the tradition and doctrines of Stoicism, and rich insight on the culture of the Roman empire in the second century. Pierre Hadot has been working on Marcus Aurelius for more than twenty years; in this book he distills his analysis and conclusions with extraordinary lucidity for the general reader.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius has been a popular text since the sixteenth century, and is a vital source in understanding the ideas of the Stoic School. Hadot seeks to demonstrate the context and background to Marcus Aurelius’s writings, and helps to explain them to a modern readership. He makes the crucial point that Stoics considered the sole purpose of studying philosophy was to improve one’s moral conduct. Hence Marcus’s writings are in the form of a personal journal designed to develop the practice of acting morally and reflectively…Throughout the book Hadot stresses the depth of Stoic thought, and the interest it holds for modern philosophy…I would particularly recommend this book to those whose education in Ancient Philosophy has centred on Plato and Aristotle, and who are interested in finding out how their ideas were developed by later philosophers.”―Matthew Clark, JACT Review“In The Inner Citadel, Hadot applies to Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations his characteristic interpretive approach: treating ancient philosophy as a ‘way of life,’ in particular one which provides its students with ‘spiritual exercises’ to enable them to make progress towards wisdom, and treating ancient philosophical texts with attention to the ‘forms of discourse,’ or constraints of genre, tradition, and audience that affected their production…The Inner Citadel is a rich and substantial book and will certainly affect future scholarship on Marcus Aurelius.”―Rachana Kemtekur, Bryn Mawr Classical Review“Hadot probes Marcus Aurelius’s guidelines and convictions and discerns the until now unperceived conceptual system that grounds them. Abundantly quoting the Meditations to illustrate his analysis, he allows Marcus Aurelius to speak directly to us. Hadot unfolds for us the general philosophical context of the Meditations, commenting on the philosophers Marcus Aurelius read and giving special attention to the teachings of Epictetus, whom Marcus followed closely…Hadot’s study offers a fresh picture of the fascinating philosopher-emperor, a fuller understanding of theories and doctrines of Stoicism, and rich insight on the culture of the Roman empire in the second century. Hadot has been working on Marcus Aurelius for more than twenty years; in this book he distills his analysis and conclusions with extraordinary lucidity for the general reader and specialist.”―Word Trade“Plato used to talk of philosopher-kings; Marcus Aurelius was something even better: He was a philosopher-emperor. The leader of the Roman Empire spent most of his life in troubling times, campaigning against the barbarians, dealing with conspiracy at home, even combatting an upstart cult that revered one of those Galilean wonder-workers. Yet the most powerful man in the world still managed to live the life of a Stoic, and to record his reflections on how we should live. Those meditations, as these inner pep talks are usually called, became one of the best-loved books of antiquity…This study–by a leading authority on Marcus–provides background matter and analysis of the main themes in the Meditations, as well as fresh translations of many of the sayings.”―Washington Post Book World“Because both translator and author are contemporaries, discussions between them contributed to an excellent and faithful translation….[Hadot argues] that The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius must be understood primarily as a ‘philosophical’ work not in the sense of speculative philosophy, but as philosophy that represents a way of life in the tradition of the Stoics…This is an excellent study of the Meditations.”―P. A. Streveler, Choice“The power and vigour of Hadot’s interpretation derive partly from his belief in the importance and continuing value of Stoic philosophy at least broadly interpreted in terms of a stoic outlook on life… In this book, as in his work as a whole, he sets a demanding standard, and an example which we can all applaud.”―R. B. Rutherford, Classical Review“Pierre Hadot, Professeur Honoraire of the College de France, aims in The Inner Citadel to discover what the emperor wanted to accomplish by writing [the Meditations]…The book he has written (published in French in 1992) achieves these aims superbly while also offering a broad introduction to the intellectual world of the second century…Through his analysis of the Meditations, Hadot exposes to our view the mind of those who ruled the Roman world at the height of its prosperity.”―Kenneth D. Bratt, Calvin Theological Journal About the Author Pierre Hadot was Professor Emeritus at the Collège de France. His books include Philosophy as a Way of Life and Plotinus.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Hadot’s study of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is undoubtedly the best educational discussion of one of the most underrated philosophers in history. A text like Meditations deserves a dedicated scholarly (but readable) supplement and Hadot has delivered it to us some thousand and a half years later.Hadot’s believes that the Meditations were not simply notes Marcus wrote to himself but rather a series of cognitive techniques practiced by many Stoics. He calls them “Imaginative Exercises.” For example, there is the practice of “turning an obstacle upside down.” Suppose you are helping someone (a virtue) and they make that difficult by being surly or unwilling to cooperate: patience and understanding. With this logic, there is rarely an excuse to ever find yourself at a philosophical impasse and is the epitome of Stoicism’s adaptability.Rather than think of Meditations as little bits of wisdom that Marcus jotted down, Hadot says, we should think of them a personal study of the tenets of Stoicism. Marcus is practicing what he has been taught as opposed to doing the teaching himself. This is a new interpretation as most other biographers have gotten caught up in comparing Marcus’s actions and his words – analyzing whether or not he was a hypocrite, a drug addict, a warrior or an enfeebled emperor.In Hadot’s book we not only get a deep understanding of Marcus but we can see the love the author has for his subject. Hadot, through his discussion of Marcus, manages to also give the reader one of the best books on Epictetus and Seneca. His original translations of all three authors are welcome additions to the canon for the group. In short, if you liked Meditations or are researching the great Marcus Aurelius, this book is THE book on the topic. Starting anywhere else would be a waste of time.

⭐I am not familiar with any other books by Hadot, but this one is phenomenal. He takes a rather terse subject and presents it in a very clear manner by breaking the philosophy down into three major components. He then dedicates a chapter to each component while giving many examples from Aurelius, but also, and this is one of the great parts, from Epictetus and Seneca. Hadot’s choice of the translations of the ancient works tend to be the more user friendly versions, if one reads reviews of different translations of Meditations on Amazon, one finds that some are horribly dry and complex. (i.e. poor translations exist)Hadot also takes the time to outline the development of Stoic philosophy, tracing the teacher/student relation through a few generations. He makes a point to explain to the reader the circumstances in which Meditations was written, why it was written, and for whom it was written. All of these are important aspects to consider when one wants to understand the books more fully. Hadot also takes the time to give examples of how this ancient school of thought can be implemented in the modern world (although that is not the point of this book, as there are others which focus on that topic more exclusively.)If you have any interest in understanding Meditations, or any interest in Stoic philosophy, then this book is a must read.

⭐I enjoyed his style of writing and the translation from French to English was seamless

⭐The Inner Citadel from Pierre Hadot is a seminal offering for the advanced Stoic philosopher that wants to dive even deeper into The Meditations from Marcus Aurelius. However, if you are new to the practice, I would suggest sticking with a little easier fare to digest, like the Stoic offerings from Ryan Holliday, The Guide To The Good Life” from William B. Irvine, and “The Practicing Stoic” from Ward Farnsworth. Donald Robertson’s latest, “How To Think Like A Roman Emperor” and his “Stoicism and the Art of Happiness”, and Massimo Pigliucci’s “How To Be A Stoic” are also great reads to further your Stoic knowledge. I feel The Inner Citadel should only be attempted after you’ve fully digested and absorbed The Meditations.

⭐I can’t say enough about how much this book will enlighten a reader interested in Marcus Aurelius and Stoicism. Hadot’s interpretation is elegantly appreciative of Marcus Aurelius’ words and possible interpretations, while also providing a solid road for his reader to follow as he leads us farther into the mind of the Emperor and the panorama of Roman Stoic thought. This is a book that will stay with you for decades and will deserve more than one reading. Each reading will lift you to the “next level” so to speak.

⭐I bought it for a friend. They seemed to enjoy it

⭐I am devouring this book. I love the explanations and examples on the MA way to live. If you love Marcus you should get this book. I have other books by Pierre Hadot as well, they are all excellent. I am a heavy consumer of philosophy, so it may not be for everyone. I have no need to elaborate as the other 5 star reviews here are spot on.

⭐It’s a thorough and very detailed analysis of the original work by Markus Aurelius. Quite good and on a par with the other books by Pierre Hadot, albeit might seem somewhat long-winded at times to someone who is familiar with the essence of the Meditations and stoicism.A careful reader should have noticed an error in line 7 from the bottom of page 132. The correct text (Book VIII, Chapter 36) should read: “…In addition, remind yourself that it is not the future, nor the past, which…” instead of “…that it is not the present, nor the past…”

⭐Fantastic book, really helps you to fully appreciate Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. Also helps you to understand more about Marcus and his world

⭐Selbstreflektion und geistige Bildung in einer Form zu erleben, die vor 2K Jahren schon relevant waren sind einfach faszinierend und regen Geist und die Kommunikation an. Da das Buch eine gute Größe hat, ist es leicht zu handhaben und selbst als Abendleser ist die Schrift optimal. Ich persönlich finde, solche Inhalte verlieren in digitaler Form verarbeitet den Reiz und deshalb bin ich dankbar für die gedruckte Version. Klassisch old school :-)Eine deutsche Fassung wäre toll!Rather than being a commentary on Marcus, the focus of this book is rather very much in the opposite direction, that is to say, Pierre Hadot mostly examines Stoicism in general and then indicates via choice quotations how Marcus Aurelius in his writings adheres to the tenets of the school. Much is given over to Epictetus in particular, as being a huge influence on Marcus, and Hadot subsequently explores his categorisation of three “disciplines” of Stoicism, namely “assent”, “desire” and “action”.The author opens with a very valuable discussion on the history of the so-called “Meditations” and how it may have originated and what purpose it may have served, and closes with an analysis about what we may learn of the character of Marcus via his writings. Those looking for a straightforward commentary on the “Meditations” may not find quite what they are looking for here, but it’s a valuable work going deeper into the background and context of Marcus’ writings and indeed a very good work on Stoicism in general.

⭐What I like about this book:Very well documented, scientific work.Deep dive into the thinking of Stoicism and Marcus Aurelius.The book shows us parallels between the roots of our Western Culture and Buddhism.With some chewing the book is stuffed with great insights and quotes.What could have been better:Lacks consistency in the use of words, labels, … which creates unnecessary confusion while reading.The message of the book could have been made more easy with the same effect

⭐If your a fan of Meditations from Marcus Aurelius, this is a must have.

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