I have read quite a lot of book on Greek and Roman philosophy and Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is the book I have read most often by far. In total, I own around 7 translations and I have read sections of other translations as well. In addition to this, I have read several secondary works, in addition to the sections of the Meditations that I have read in the original Greek. In 2021/2022, I have hosted an eight-month long weekly reading group on the Meditations as well.

One important note about reading philosophical works, is that translation is a very important aspect if it was written in a different language. There are many features present in Ancient Greek (the language that Meditations was written in) that are not present in English, or words with no English equivalent.

Translation is not just about translating the words but - especially with philosophy - it is also important to capture the style, tone, etc. of a text as this is essential to communicate the meaning of the source material. If that is not possible due to linguistic challenges, that should be clarified by the translator.

So, back to Marcus Aurelius. After reading the Meditation and several secondary sources, what is my favourite translation of the work in English?

Waterfield’s Annotated Edition

By far the best translation of the Meditations in English is Robin Waterfield’s Annotated Edition.

In this translation, Waterfield does an amazing job of capturing the conciseness of the original work. The English text ‘feels’ very similar to the original, literary, yet direct.

In addition to the great translation, this edition has a great introduction, clarification on translating certain terminology of Greek philosophy, but to me the best part are the tons of annotations present as footnotes.

The Meditations was not a book to be published, for Marcus Aurelius, it was most likely his “commonplace book” and Waterfield does an amazing job of adding connections to other works works and even to similar passages within the book, or simply explaining cultural references.

If you are interested in reading Meditations, or if you have read it before but want to understand it better, you cannot go wrong with this edition.

The ISBNs are:

  • Hardcover: 9781541673854
  • Paperback: 9781541673861

Other translations worth checking out

  • If you can read Ancient Greek: Haine’s translation from the Loeb Classical Library is not an amazing translation, but has the original text on the left, and the English translation side-by-side on the right, which can be great.
  • Dutch translation: I have not read as many Dutch translations as English ones, but I like Simone Mooij-Valk’s “Persoonlijke notities” best so far.
  • German Translation: there is a German translation of Waterfield’s edition (Selbstbetrachtungen: Die kommentierte Edition, translated by Elisabeth Liebl), which I have partly read and quite liked.

ἐξετάζειν τί μοί ἐστι νῦν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μορίῳ, ὃ δὴ ἡγεμονικὸν καλοῦσι, καὶ τίνος ἄρα νῦν ἔχω ψυχήν;

At this moment, what is occupying that part of me they call the command center? What kind of a soul do I actually have at the moment? (Waterfield’s translation of Meditations 5.11)