The 16 Greatest Lessons From 16 Years With Marcus Aurelius

Just over sixteen years ago, I bought Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations on Amazon. Amazon Prime didn’t exist then and to qualify for free shipping, I had to purchase a few other books at the same time.

I was 19 years old. I didn’t know what Stoicism was. I didn’t know who Marcus Aurelius was (besides the old guy in Gladiator). I certainly didn’t know who Gregory Hays, the translator, was. I’m not even sure why I got that translation — it just came up first in the searches. But if I hadn’t ordered that book, if it hadn’t shown up at my college apartment a few days later, I’m not sure who I would have turned out to be.

It was for me what Tyler Cowen would call a “a quake book,” shaking everything I thought I knew about the world (however little that actually was at 19). I would also become what Stephen Marche has referred to as a “centireader,” reading Marcus Aurelius well over 100 times across multiple editions and copies.

In fact, just recently I started reading a new copy…because my 16-year-old copy was starting to get a little worse for wear. The cover has been taped back on. Nearly every page is marked with different pens and…