240123 What I learned in my studies this morning 4

I grow tired of these —

These too poor imitations.

I should stop.

Today's Meditation(s):

The haiku abominations I put in front in my entries are going away.  I think, of the 1000+ I've written, maybe two or three are any good.  What started as a silly way to stretch some mental muscles has turned into a chore which usually turns out poorly.

References obscure to anyone but me. (And most of those will be unknowable by me, as well, on that day far in the future when I reread it.)

Song lyrics which pass my brain.

Snippets of overheard conversation. 

All of which I cram into a 'poem'.

Not a lot here to recommend that I continue to pursue them. I may still compose one every once in a while, when the Muse hits me upside the head, but, since she stopped returning my messages, that probably won't happen often.

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Hadot's first chapter (The Emperor-Philosopher) discusses the king himself.  What was his life like? Who were his family, friends, and tutors? When did he turn to philosophy as a way of life?

The second chapter, A First Glimpse at the Meditations, moves into discussing the  work directly. How did it survive through the years? What sources do we have? What genre of literature is it? How should it be grouped / divided? What should its title be?

In this, it reminds me of Part I of van Ackeren's A Companion to Marcus Aurelius, though those five essays are more detailed and more academically technical. (They're also are written by five different authors, each specializing in a particular idiosyncrasy.)

Hadot's work is, of course, also highly intelligent and well-informed, but it's purpose is different.  

The chapters from A Companion seek to demonstrate as clearly as possible the detailed artifacts which provide evidence of Marcus' work (manuscripts, letters, epigraphs, archeology, etc.). 

Hadot is trying to understand, to show us how the Meditations have been constructed and deconstructed, and how it should be. He's looking at scholarly interpretations and bolstering or undermining them as need be; synthesizing an answer, not sifting relics.