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Comment by 0kl | Hacker News Reader

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0kl·

Re Aurelius: preview a couple different translations if you can - I have found there to be significant differences.

If you have the time/inclination and haven’t already I’d also suggest reading Epictetus and Seneca first.

NB: My favorite of all the available Aurelius translations so far is Martin Hammond (Penguin Classics)

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Standard Ebooks has a nice PD edition of the George Long translation.[1] Also Elizabeth Carter’s translation of Epictetus’s The Enchiridion[2] and Aubrey Stewart’s translation of Seneca’s Dialogues.[3]

[1] https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/marcus-aurelius/meditation...

[2] https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/epictetus/the-enchiridion/...

[3] https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/seneca/dialogues/aubrey-st...

Is Hammond's your favorite because it's the best read or because it's the most faithful to the source material?

I surveyed a ton of translations a few years ago and found Maxwell Staniforth's to be the best balance between readability and fidelity to the original text. Older translations (as is typical of older translations of ancient works) tend to use needlessly "elevated" language, while a lot of newer ones seem to be convinced the Greek is even more simple and informal than it actually is, for whatever reason.

Best read for me - most powerful and readable imo. I’m sure there is a better academic/true-to-source read. I’ve read about 4 different translations and Hammond always stick with me - possibly because I read it first.

Thank you - in the future I will clarify.

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