Note About Editions

Love me some old, dead Roman Emperors’ philosophies like Marcus Aurelius.

Note About Editions

I mostly employ the two copies, hard copies, books, for sources for Marcus Aurelius “Meditations” quotes. The Modern Library/Gregory Hays version — sort of New Age-ish, and then, the gold standard in my mind, Loeb Classical Library version. The freely available, public domain copy is around a hundred years old, the translation, so it tends towards some archaic phrasing. Not without merit as a source, and I’ve had a digital copy like that for a few years. Number of the quotes I’ve used are drawn from there — digital is easier to copy and quote, in my workflow.

My small collection of Loeb Classical Library editions is visible in one image of my desk; the regency tomes are green and red, thin volumes in both Greek and Latin with an English equivalency. Beautifully bound. Little, classical, academic treasures.

Poking around, I was really researching a different Latin/Roman astrology/astronomy author as a source, and I happened across a fairly new release in Apple’s iBooks — Delphi Complete Works of Marcus Aurelius – Marcus Aurelius which is, the “Hains” translation, found in Marcus Aurelius (Loeb Classical Library).

It’s the little things that make me happy, some days. A cheap, ibooked version of “Meditations,” that was all.

I use real books, more for reference than anything else, and anymore, there tends to be a decent précis available online. Doesn’t stop me from looking it up in a book. For me, archaic that it might be, the books are sometimes faster.

As a sidebar, weird item one year, I stumbled on the book version of a title, perfect for South Texas, Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony, and I went whipping through the digital version, as it was a gripping read, for me. My turf, from South Texas Cattle Coast to the Hard New Mexico Line. All in there.

So finding a legitmate Marcus Aurelius “Meditations” — cheap? That was a bright spot. I finally have a decent copy to carry around on the iPad, and for that matter, on the phone, as well. Not that I’d ever use it on the phone, but I could.

The Apple eBook version — the software — it reads easier. Not as much fun to dig through, and no penciled in dates.

Note About Editions

The iBook version does allow for highlighting and margin notes, which, to me, seems important. I still have the two, original, beat up book copies, close at hand.

Some days, that tangible book just feels better.

Delphi Complete Works of Marcus Aurelius – Marcus Aurelius

Meditations – Marcus Aurelius & Gregory Hays

Note About Editions

Cover shot.

As always a free version is hosted on astrofish.net right here.

#meditation