Translators spend years on works like Hays’s Meditations. Buying the book (new or used) or borrowing from a library respects that labor while still making the text widely accessible. If cost is a barrier, libraries eliminate it entirely.
The translations by George Long and C.R. Haines are in the public domain. These are 100% legal to download, share, and distribute as PDFs.
The most famous lesson from Marcus is the Stoic "Dichotomy of Control."
“Some things are within our power, while others are not.” (Hays translation)
Marcus argues that anxiety comes from trying to control what we cannot (other people, the past, the weather, the stock market). Peace comes from focusing entirely on what we can control (our judgments, our actions, our reactions). Meditations Marcus Aurelius Gregory Hays Free Pdf
If your goal is simply to read Marcus Aurelius at no cost, several excellent older translations are legally free as PDFs, e‑pubs, or online texts:
| Translator | Year | Style | Best source | |------------|------|-------|--------------| | George Long | 1862 | Formal, literal | Standard Ebooks, Project Gutenberg | | Meric Casaubon | 1634 (revised) | Renaissance English | Archive.org | | A.S.L. Farquharson | 1944 | Scholarly, with notes | Wikiversity, Archive.org |
Recommended free resource: The George Long translation—though less fluid than Hays—is perfectly readable and widely available. You can download it as a PDF from Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org), Standard Ebooks (well-formatted), or Archive.org (scanned originals).
Author: Marcus Aurelius Context: Written primarily in Greek while Marcus Aurelius was on military campaigns (c. 170–180 AD). Nature: The text was never intended for publication. It was a private diary (titled "Ta eis heauton" or "Things to oneself") used by the Emperor to articulate and reinforce his personal philosophy. Translators spend years on works like Hays’s Meditations
Let’s be honest: older translations of Meditations (like those by George Long or Jeremy Collier) can feel clunky. They use archaic English like "thou" and "hath," which creates a distance between the reader and the raw emotion of the text.
Gregory Hays, a professor of classics at the University of Virginia, changed the game in 2002 with his Modern Library edition. Here is why his version is the one everyone is searching for:
Because of this accessibility, the Gregory Hays translation is the version recommended by modern Stoic influencers like Ryan Holiday and Tim Ferriss.
For users seeking the text without purchasing a physical copy, the following legitimate options exist: “Some things are within our power, while others are not
A. The Gregory Hays Translation (Paid/Licensed):
B. Free Alternatives (Public Domain): If the user specifically requires a free digital copy, they should consider the George Long translation. While less fluid than Hays, it captures the same philosophical principles.
Finding the PDF is the easy part. Reading it is the challenge. Most people quit after Book 1. Don't be that person.
The Hays Strategy: Hays intentionally broke the book into short, numbered paragraphs. Do not read it like a novel.