Summary of Books 10-12

Summary of Book 11

In this book, Aurelius picks up where he left off in the discussion of the importance of the soul and its relation to the body as well as it’s relation to nature. He first outlines the different properties of the rational soul. These include “it looks on itself; it shapes itself; it makes itself however it wishes to be, it gathers for itself the fruit it bears – whereas the fruit of plants and the corresponding produce of animals is gathered by other. It achieves its own end wherever the limit of life is set.” (Aurelius 105). Essentially, the soul encompasses qualities of being able to understand its own needs, as well as the means of retrieving those needs. He furthers an idea briefly explored in some of the previous books that nothing in the universe is new, and that everything has happened before (the cyclical nature of the world which was discussed in Book 7. Therefore, acceptance of fate and what is to come (death) is important in adhering to one’s nature, and therefore, happiness. My favorite quote from this entire book is

“live through life in the best way you can.”

Meditations 109

This quote seems to sum up much of the entirety of Meditations as it is a book on trying to teach just that.