{"schemaVersion":"bookbox.book.v1","id":"book:meditations","slug":"meditations","canonicalOwner":"bookbox.ink","title":"Meditations","author":"Marcus Aurelius","year":180,"status":"chat-ready","description":"Twelve books of private notes about judgment, duty, mortality, cooperation, and keeping character intact under pressure.","source":{"catalogUrl":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2680","readUrl":"https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2680/2680-h/2680-h.htm","edition":"Meric Casaubon translation, prepared from the 1634 and 1635 editions","rightsStatus":"verified-public-domain","rightsEvidence":"Project Gutenberg marks eBook 2680 public domain in the USA. Bookbox stores original synthesis and source locators, not the full source text.","verifiedAt":"2026-08-30"},"ingestion":{"mode":"derived-citation-corpus","sourceTextStored":false,"chapterCount":12,"corpusPath":"src/content/books/meditations/chapter-map.md","attributionCorrection":"The predecessor corpus named George Long, but Project Gutenberg eBook 2680 identifies its text as Casaubon's translation."},"distillation":{"path":"src/content/books/meditations/distillation.md","label":"Canonical one-page distillation","thesis":"Keep the governing part of the mind clear, do the duty in front of you, cooperate with other people, and release claims on outcomes you do not control."},"frameworks":[{"id":"event-judgment-action","name":"Event, judgment, action","sourceLocator":"Books IV, VIII, and XII","path":"src/content/books/meditations/frameworks/event-judgment-action.md","summary":"Separate the event from the judgment attached to it, then choose the conduct that remains available."}],"exercises":[{"id":"morning-rehearsal","name":"Morning friction rehearsal","sourceLocator":"Books II and V","path":"src/content/books/meditations/exercises/morning-rehearsal.md","safetyLimit":"Planning for friction must not normalize abuse, danger, or avoidable harm."},{"id":"evening-control-review","name":"Evening control review","sourceLocator":"Books IX and XII","path":"src/content/books/meditations/exercises/evening-control-review.md","safetyLimit":"The review is reflective practice, not mental health treatment or a tool for self-punishment."}],"chapters":[{"number":1,"title":"Debts and lessons","locator":"Book I","principle":"Character is assembled from examples. Name what each teacher gave you, then practice the quality rather than merely admiring it.","keywords":["gratitude","teachers","character","examples","learning"]},{"number":2,"title":"The morning rehearsal","locator":"Book II","principle":"Expect friction without surrendering your own conduct. Mortality makes the quality of the next action more urgent than the outcome.","keywords":["morning","difficult people","mortality","conduct","anger"]},{"number":3,"title":"The cost of delay","locator":"Book III","principle":"Attention and time are finite. Stop postponing the work of becoming deliberate, truthful, and useful.","keywords":["delay","attention","time","focus","truth"]},{"number":4,"title":"Retreat into yourself","locator":"Book IV","principle":"A short return to sound judgment is more dependable than escape. Events change; the opinion attached to them can change too.","keywords":["retreat","judgment","change","opinion","calm"]},{"number":5,"title":"Getting out of bed","locator":"Book V","principle":"Comfort is not the purpose of a human life. Rise to do the social and practical work your nature and commitments require.","keywords":["work","duty","comfort","procrastination","action"]},{"number":6,"title":"Do not become a Caesar","locator":"Book VI","principle":"Power and praise can deform character. Keep returning to justice, simplicity, and work that benefits the whole.","keywords":["power","praise","justice","simplicity","community"]},{"number":7,"title":"The view from above","locator":"Book VII","principle":"Change the scale of a problem until panic shrinks, then keep the duty that remains. Perspective edits fear without erasing responsibility.","keywords":["perspective","scale","panic","fear","view from above","responsibility"]},{"number":8,"title":"Everyone you outlived also died","locator":"Book VIII","principle":"Fame, grievance, and status decay quickly. Use impermanence to return attention to present character and action.","keywords":["impermanence","fame","status","grievance","present"]},{"number":9,"title":"Praying for the wrong things","locator":"Book IX","principle":"Ask for a better disposition, not a guaranteed outcome. Other people's errors are occasions for correction or patience, not self-corruption.","keywords":["control","outcomes","desire","prayer","other people","patience"]},{"number":10,"title":"Names you cannot afford to lose","locator":"Book X","principle":"Protect the qualities that make your action worth taking: honesty, justice, steadiness, and membership in a wider human community.","keywords":["integrity","honesty","justice","identity","community"]},{"number":11,"title":"Rules for not hating anyone","locator":"Book XI","principle":"Treat wrongdoing as error to understand and, where possible, correct. Refusing hatred protects both cooperation and your own judgment.","keywords":["hate","wrongdoing","correction","cooperation","judgment"]},{"number":12,"title":"Everything you wanted is already available","locator":"Book XII","principle":"The present is enough material for justice, truth, and acceptance. Separate the mind's work from the external conditions it cannot command.","keywords":["present","acceptance","truth","justice","control","mind"]}],"skills":[{"slug":"dichotomy-of-control","name":"Control sort","sourceLocator":"Books IX and XII","path":"src/content/books/meditations/skills/dichotomy-of-control/SKILL.md"},{"slug":"view-from-above","name":"View from above","sourceLocator":"Books VII and IX","path":"src/content/books/meditations/skills/view-from-above/SKILL.md"},{"slug":"memento-mori","name":"Mortality filter","sourceLocator":"Books II and IV","path":"src/content/books/meditations/skills/memento-mori/SKILL.md"}],"compatibility":{"summonGuide":{"agentId":"book:meditations","profileUrl":"https://summon.guide/books/meditations","chatUrl":"https://summon.guide/chat/source/meditations","contract":"docs/compatibility/summon-v1.md"}},"links":{"bookboxProfile":"/books/meditations","api":"/api/v1/books/meditations","chat":"/api/v1/books/meditations/chat"}}