Marcus Aurelius
Which translation of the Meditations should you read?
Marcus wrote the Meditations in Greek, for himself, in short and often compressed notes. Translators have to decide how much to expand them, how modern to sound, and how much to explain. There is no single best version, but there is a best one for you.
The short answer
For a first read
Gregory HaysModern Library, 2002Buy on AmazonCloser to the Greek
Robin HardOxford World’s Classics, 2011Buy on AmazonWith notes on every page
Robin WaterfieldBasic Books, 2021Buy on AmazonFree, right now
George LongFree on this site, 1862 Read free here
The main translations at a glance
| Translation | Closeness | English | Help | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gregory Hays2002 · Modern Library | Loose | Modern | Introduction | A first read |
| Martin Hammond2006 · Penguin Classics | Balanced | Modern | Introduction and notes | Reading closely, with notes |
| Robin Hard2011 · Oxford World’s Classics | Close to the Greek | Modern | Introduction and notes | Getting closer to what Marcus wrote |
| Robin Waterfield2021 · Basic Books | Close to the Greek | Modern | Introduction and notes | Understanding every line |
| George Long1862 · Free on this site | Close to the Greek | Victorian | Text only | Reading free, right now |
The same lines in each translation
When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly.
Gregory Hays, 2002
Say to yourself first thing in the morning: today I shall meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, aggressive, treacherous, malicious, unsocial.
Martin Hammond, 2006
Say to yourself at the start of the day, I shall meet with meddling, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, and unsociable people.
Robin Hard, 2011
At the start of the day tell yourself: I shall meet people who are officious, ungrateful, abusive, treacherous, malicious, and selfish.
Robin Waterfield, 2021
Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial.
George Long, 1862 · Read on
The main translations in detail
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Gregory Hays
Modern Library, 2002
Spare, direct modern English that reads like a private notebook. The most widely read version today, and the usual recommendation for a first reading. It aims for the spirit of the Greek more than its exact wording, and puts Stoic technical terms into plain English.
Introduction on Marcus’s life, the essentials of Stoicism and the book’s style; bibliography and index.
Sources: Penguin Random House, Orion Philosophy, Reading the Odyssey
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Martin Hammond
Penguin Classics, 2006
A clear, careful translation by a respected classicist: closer to the Greek than Hays without becoming stiff, a middle way between Hays and Hard, with detailed notes and full indexes.
Detailed notes by the translator; introduction by Diskin Clay; chronology, further reading, and indexes of names, quotations and subjects.
Sources: Penguin, Penguin Random House Higher Education, Orion Philosophy
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Robin Hard
Oxford World’s Classics, 2011
Based on the latest Greek edition, keeps more of Marcus’s Stoic vocabulary, and is slightly more formal than Hays. An earlier version of the translation was praised in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review for being both more readable and more literal than Farquharson’s, and for not softening Marcus’s blunter language.
Introduction and notes by Christopher Gill placing the book in its philosophical context; a selection of Marcus’s letters with his tutor Fronto.
Sources: Oxford University Press, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 98.6.23, Orion Philosophy
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Robin Waterfield
Basic Books, 2021
More literal than Hays and more attentive to Stoic vocabulary, in lively, sometimes colloquial modern English. The notes sit on the page beside the lines they explain, which makes it the easiest edition to study from.
An annotated edition: a substantial introduction, and notes on the page as footnotes rather than at the back.
Sources: Open Library, Ballasts for the Mind, Reading the Odyssey
- Read free here
George Long
Free on this site, 1862
The classic Victorian translation: faithful and grave, in “thee” and “thou”. The old-fashioned English puts some distance between you and Marcus, but it costs nothing and is still serviceable.
The full text, with every passage numbered and linkable.
Sources: Orion Philosophy, Reading the Odyssey
Other translations you may come across
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Maxwell Staniforth
Penguin Classics, 1964
Penguin’s translation from 1964, in print for decades: simple and straightforward, more stately in tone than Hays, and often described by readers as more faithful to the original.
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G. M. A. Grube
Hackett, 1983
A compact, scholarly edition with a glossary of Stoic technical terms and an index of the people Marcus mentions, so you can look things up as you go.
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C. Scot Hicks and David V. Hicks · The Emperor’s Handbook
Scribner, 2002
Modernises Marcus heavily to make him as accessible as possible, down to its title. Very easy to read, but further from the Greek than the other modern translations here.
- Read free here
C. R. Haines
Free on this site, 1916
Made for the Loeb Classical Library, where it was printed beside the Greek. Also in “thee” and “thou”, and a fresh translation rather than a revision of Long’s.
- Read free online
Meric Casaubon
Free at Project Gutenberg, 1634
The first English translation of the Meditations, in rich seventeenth-century prose. Its own modern editor warns that it is often more a paraphrase than a close translation. A pleasure to dip into, but not the place to start.
A. S. L. Farquharson
Oxford, 1944
A two-volume scholarly edition with the Greek text and commentary: very literal, and best used for checking passages against the Greek.
Sources
- Penguin Random House: Meditations, translated by Gregory Hays
- Penguin: Meditations, translated by Martin Hammond
- Penguin Random House Higher Education: Meditations (Hammond)
- Oxford University Press: Meditations, translated by Robin Hard
- Bryn Mawr Classical Review 98.6.23: Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, translated by Robin Hard
- Open Library: Meditations, the Annotated Edition
- Ballasts for the Mind: review of Waterfield’s annotated edition
- Google Books: Meditations, translated by Maxwell Staniforth
- Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations: editions and translations
- Hackett Publishing: The Meditations, translated by G. M. A. Grube
- Simon & Schuster: The Emperor’s Handbook
- Ian Chadwick: The Emperor’s Handbook
- Project Gutenberg: Meditations, translated by Meric Casaubon (eBook 2680)
- Wikisource: Marcus Aurelius, translated by C. R. Haines (Loeb, 1916)
- Orion Philosophy: the best translation of the Meditations
- Reading the Odyssey: Meditations, what it’s about and the best translation
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