The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius by Pierre Hadot | Goodreads
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The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
by
Pierre Hadot,
Michael Chase (Translator)
4.52 · Rating details · 344 Ratings · 23 Reviews
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.(less)
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Hardcover, 351 pages
Published August 25th 1998 by Harvard University Press (first published 1992)
Original Title
La Citadelle interieure: Introduction aux Pensées de Marc Aurèle
ISBN
0674461711 (ISBN13: 9780674461710)
Edition Language
English
Characters
Marcus Aurelius
setting
Roman Empire
Other Editions (10)
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Nov 28, 2013Timothy Kestrel rated it it was amazing
If my house was on fire and I had time to grab just one thing before I rushed out, it would be this book.
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Feb 27, 2017Christopher Porzenheim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: books-about-books, lit-crit, philosophy, philosophy-greco-roman
Has your life ever been changed by a book? The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius changed mine. Books that do this are necessarily rare. But even rarer than books that change your life are the books that change the way you understand life changing books. The Inner Citadel by Pierre Hadot is this rarest of book, it has fundamentally changed the way I understand the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius for the better.
If you want to better understand Marcus Aurelius, you want to read this book. Marcus’s stoic ‘collaborators,’ Epictetus and Seneca, show up in this book almost as frequently as Marcus. Hadot does not glibly summarize these philosophers views, he is interested in letting the ancients speak for themselves. Thus, almost every page is stuffed with quotes, analysis, quotes of analysis, and analysis of quotes. At times I felt buried under the sheer weight of Hadot’s quotes. But I was happily entombed. By providing the actual words of philosophers themselves, rather than the usual gloss of their views, Hadot does something rare in a modern work on ancient philosophy. Hadot makes philosophy, and Marcus Aurelius’s Stoicism in particular, accessible to the common reader.
Beware this book is long. But if you already interested in or love Marcus or Stoicism this book will be a great pleasure. A drink to sip over weeks and months, not for gulping. The way Marcus writes is as much his message as what he writes, and Hadot helps make clear why the Meditations is the way it is, what its influences were, and what makes it original. At the same time, Hadow shows how much debt Christianity and modern philosophy owe to Stoicism. Christianity, Hadot shows, was neither original nor unique in its belief in human rights or the value in loving one’s neighbor. Hadot even shows how Kant’s categorical imperative is nothing more than refurbished Stoicism. Reading the Inner Citadel is well worth your time if you have any interest in Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, or the history of philosophy and religion in the West. There really is nothing new under the sun, but Hadot will help you see the old and new in clearer light.
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Jan 14, 2017Euan Semple rated it really liked it
This thorough, detailed, rigourous, but eminently readable exploration of Marcus Aurlius's Meditations offers a fascinating insight into the themes and patterns of the 12 books. Backed up by descriptions of the history of the manuscripts and other academic writings about them, Hadot’s enthusiasm and admiration of the man he is writing about comes across. I was left with the impression that very little has changed in the concerns and worries of mankind over 2000 years and enjoyed reading about ho ...more
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Feb 15, 2016Ajay rated it really liked it
Shelves: philosophy
Aurelius' Meditations is one of my favorite works, I try to re-read it at the start of every year, this book added a layer to how I understand and think about the book. Recommended to those who find value in Meditations, and perhaps stoicism more generally (Hadot does extensively quote from Aurelius' work, so you might not need to have read it to benefit from this book.).
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Jun 06, 2017Jay Nichols rated it liked it
In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius posits that nothing really matters because in a thousand years we'll be dead and forgotten. But Marcus Aurelius has been dead for more than a thousand years and he's remembered, so I don't know what to make of all of this.
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Aug 02, 2017Mr_wormwood rated it liked it
made an interesting point about the difference between Platonic and Stoic conceptions of reason. In short, Platonist's divide the soul into good and bad parts; reason is good, passion, impulse, everything irrational is bad. For Stoics, however, there is no division within the soul, rather a soul becomes bad, or deluded, because of the judgments it makes based on false understandings. I like this. it means there is no interminable battle between good and evil inside us, rather a plethora of diffe ...more
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Apr 26, 2015Ross Cohen rated it it was amazing
In "The Inner Citadel," Hadot reveals the system behind Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations," with clarity, sensitivity, and grace. He presents a fully-formed image of the world's most powerful man working on making himself a better man. Essential reading.
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Jan 03, 2015Taylor Grayson rated it liked it
Boring. So much jargon and metaphysics. This is why nerds bore people at parties.
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May 20, 2018Lorinda rated it really liked it
I have not read The Meditations but I have learned much about Stoicism and the thought and aims of Marcus Aurelius by reading this book. And the book has stimulated me to learn more. Pierre Hadot's writing and the translation by Michael Chase are both clear and well-organized.
The book is full of abstract concepts with few, if any, concrete examples (even ones taken from life in the second century). Also, the tripartite structure of the philosophy is great the way it all hangs together and also e...more
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Nov 27, 2017Ismail Elshareef rated it it was amazing
Shelves: nonfiction, history, favorites, mindfulness
This is a book that I’ve revisited time and again. It has the keys to may sanity as our world, and at times, our lives, become increasingly hectic and lacking purpose. This book is like a therapist on the go, offering lessons and advice that have stood the test of time for many many centuries. Highly recommended.
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Nov 30, 2017Justine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Rich and clear introduction to Marc-Aurèle and Stoicism in general.
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Dec 09, 2016Marc-André rated it it was ok
Shelves: history, phil
I didn`t really enjoy reading Aurelius, and this is not so different. I`d recommend Epictetus rather. ...more
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Jul 10, 2017Christopher Hellstrom rated it really liked it
A strong scholarly analysis of this classic of Stoic thought. Made me reread and further appreciate "The Meditations"
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Oct 21, 2017Jackson rated it it was ok · review of another edition
A tedious read. The level of academic depth that this book goes into makes staying awake difficult. But aside from that, it does a fairly good job of providing insights into what Marcus meant in his Meditations.
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Nov 30, 2014Du Nguyen rated it really liked it
Shelves: owned
The Inner Citadel by Pierre Hadot is an analysis of The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. In The Inner Citadel, Hadot strives to organize the writings of Aurelius into stoic themes and provide a perspective of Aurelius, his context and his writings.
The book is excellent in explaining a lot of the stoic concepts. It starts providing a picture of who Aurelius was. The chapter on his upbringing is especially interesting and provides a view into his philosophical education. The background information on how The Meditations was lost and subsequently discovered is also fascinating but the lack of information here makes it hard to deduce anything from it. Lastly Hadot provides a primer into stoicism and how it evolved. Hadot also covers the structure of ancient philosophies of physics, dialectics and ethics.
After providing the background, Hadot goes into the three central themes of The Meditations: assent, desire and action. Assent is how to see things as they are without judgment. Desire is how to accept fate - accept external events. Action is how to act in accordance with the universe.
If you, like me, read The Meditations and didn't quite like the descriptions of "Providence", "Nature" and "Universe", Hadot makes it much clearer on how these terms fit into a modern world view. It certainly made me appreciate The Meditations more.
A great work by Hadot and essential if you felt like you didn't get that much out of The Meditations. This book can illuminate some of the points in The Meditations that feels too obscure. (less)
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Feb 04, 2014Nick Short rated it it was amazing
Shelves: ancient-greece-and-rome, read-in-2014, italy-rome, philosophy
A marvel. True scholarship.
With precise seriousness and full of the kindest of feelings for his readers, Pierre Hadot offers his authority on perhaps the most remarkable book in existance, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus's Meditations.
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Jun 24, 2016Jack rated it really liked it
An excellent companion to The Meditations- largely free of redundancy, and rich in biographical, lexical, and historiographical context. This seems accessible to a lay audience, though perhaps with a bit of difficulty on their part, but generally seems best suited to those with a background in the classics or academic philosophy who want a bit of lighter material on the side. Recommended.
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Jun 29, 2016Karl Nordenstorm rated it it was ok
I see myself as a stoic, loved Epictetus and thoroughly enjoyed Seneca and Rufus, but Marcus Aurelius - nope. He is boring. There is nothing provoking about his writings, nothing that makes you want to argue with him, nothing that is fun. Another thing: Aurelius is very heavy on stoic jargon. He does not write in plain words.
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May 30, 2012Colin rated it it was amazing
Shelves: philosophy, scholarly-works, teaching-resources
An absolutely brilliant exploration of the thought of Marcus Aurelius and his writings on Stoicism. A must-read for any scholarly Stoic, in my opinion (that is, if the more cerebral aspects, including linguistic and such, appeal to you).
