Meditations discussion

I bought the Hammond version but I am not sure if this is the best translation.
Any advice?

Thanks

I would highly recommend the Gregory Hays translation by Modern Library. It is simple while still preserving the message.

Thank you! I have decided to read both Hammond and Hays. I like Hammond style but some parts are difficult. You are right. Hays is much easier to understand.

4 years late but let me reply for any members drawn to this topic browsing or searching. I own every commercially published translation since Long’s in the 1820s.
Hammond is reliable and readable. As a Penguin Classic it has the advantage of being the one your book store likely has in stock. It’s my study version and has the most pencilling.
Hays was a best seller for a reason. It’s frank and pithy. It’s like Marcus Aurelius on Twitter. But to do that it strips away a lot of the poetic voice of the original. If you want to knock it out in one wet weekend Hays is the one. Otherwise wait until you like Meditations so much you want to explore it more and make Hay’s the second one you buy. Many’s the time I found something a little opaque in some other translation so reached for Hays to get it in one-punch language.
Long’s was THE translation for decades and still readily available. But I f you come across it in your eBay shopping, keep looking. Anything else in this list is better - certainly fresher.
If you’re interested in the favourite version of the guy who’s read them all, it’s the one by the Hicks brothers (The Emperors Handbook). Accurate, but in beautiful prose. It’s a joy to read while you soak in the stoic approach to living that Marcus Aurelius recorded for his own benefit. It’s the one I’d give as a present.
Otherwise any other one you come across first is worth getting. Haines, Staniforth, Hard. All solid.
Hope you enjoy whichever one you get.

Thanks Michael. Your response wins! I've owned both Hays versions & the Hammond version, have read & gifted all away. Now it's time to get another copy for myself. I've actually never heard of the Emperor's Handbook, silly me! Looking forward to diving in!

Robin Waterfield version, Michael?

The translation by Robin Waterfield is in my view with distance the best translation. The more popular translations often miss explaining the crucial technicalities of Stoic philosophy which are needed to understand the text, which in turn hurts the translation itself.

The Waterfield translation is a clear, well-annotated version with a strong introduction and commentary which helps the reader understand the deeper meaning behind Marcus' reflections. It might be a bit more expensive compared to the Penguin classics version or the Hays translation, but it is definitely worth paying the extra penny for in my humble opinion.

Someone once said that every translation is also an interpretation or in turn a reinterpretation of something especially if it was written in a different time and place and within a different culture. I believe this is unavoidable.

For myself then the best translation comes down to which one resonates the most. I often find myself reaching for Hays one day then Hammond or Hard or Waterfield the next if the other fails to resonate. Even the annotations of the later three can resonate differently.

However the initial reason for commenting was to give thanks for introducing me to The Emperor’s Handbook.