This inaugural-and all new-Tarcher Cornerstone Edition presents a stunningly relevant and reliable translation of the thoughts and aphorisms of the Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, properly placing the philosopher-king's writings within the vein of the world's great religious and ethical traditions.
The late antique world possessed no voice like that of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 CE). His private meditations on what constitutes a good life have withstood the centuries and reach us today with the same penetrating clarity and shining light as the words of Shakespeare, Emerson, or Thoreau.
In this remarkable new translation, bestselling religious philosopher Jacob Needleman and classics scholar John P. Piazza have retained the depth of Marcus's perspective on life. They have carefully selected and faithfully rendered those passages that clarify Marcus's role as someone who stood within the great religious and ethical traditions that extend throughout every culture in human history. The voice that emerges from their translation is a universal one, equally recognizable to students of Christ, Buddha, the Vedas, the Talmud, and to anyone who sincerely searches for a way of meaning in contemporary life.
"With this one compact statement, Jacob Needleman has forced the discussion of both science and religion in our time into a new, more mature and discriminating phase. . . . It is a way station where those who are seriously exploring the transformation of consciousness will have to stop, take thought, and perhaps re-plot their course."—Theodore Roszak
"I want to strongly recommend it to every reader seriously interested in our present cultural situation."—Fritjof Capra
"Needleman is unique; he is really on to something. . . . A fine book"—Harvey Cox
Western science has operated for centuries on the assumption that we can understand the universe without understanding ourselves. We are just now seeking to make the necessary connection between the general laws of nature to those of our own (inner) nature. But the job won’t be done with "massive injections of the new consciousness"; we cannot democratize the sacred by cheapening its demands.
"My aim in this book therefore" says Needleman, "has not been to speak of the convergence of science and spirituality, but of their separation. As in nature itself, organic unity is a reciprocal relationship between separate but interdependent entities. In human life as well, there can be no real unity except through the awareness of real divisions. One may then hope to experience the magic power of sustained awareness by itself to bring the harmony that we have until now fruitlessly attempted to impose on ourselves and on our endangered civilization."
Jacob Needleman is a professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University and the author of many books, including Money and the Meaning of Life, and The American Soul. In addition to his teaching and writing, he serves as a consultant in the fields of psychology, education, medical ethics, philanthropy, and business, and has been featured on Bill Moyers’s acclaimed PBS series A World of Ideas.
American democracy has existed for more than two hundred years, surviving challenges, betrayals, bashing, bloody wars, and the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001.Here Jacob Needleman explores the sacred meaning of America.
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