John Brown

'The Meditations' is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, in 12 short chapters called 'books'. It was written in the 70s of the II century AD, mostly during the Emperor's campaigns in Central Europe, at the north-east border of the Roman Empire and in Sirmium. In essence, it is a rethink of the philosophy of Epictetus, often quoted in the book: it is useless to attempt to change the world to suit one's needs, one should accept calmly and dispassionately whatever is destined to happen, and every lot is good in its own way. United States President Bill Clinton said that 'The Meditations' was his favorite book, and former United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis carried his own personal copy of 'The Meditations' of Marcus Aurelius throughout his deployments as a Marine Corps officer in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus is one of the prominent philosophers, alongside Seneca, Aristotle, Plato, Homer, Socrates, Machiavelli and others.

In 1902, self-taught British philosopher and author James Allen published this inspirational essay based on the Bible verse “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” This slender volume (only 68 pages) has been a popular classic ever since. Allen preached the importance of people taking responsibility for themselves and their actions as well as using determination to improve the mind. The most frequently quoted lines from the book include: «Men do not attract what they want, but what they are» and «A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.»

Why Political Science Classics Collection is so important? In today’s world, providing quality training for the younger generation at colleges and universities is of primary importance. But higher education is not enough.Any graduate is first and foremost a citizen of his nation.He has the right to be an actor in the political life of his society.The political changes taking place today in the modern world are dependent on the civic stance of each person.In this way, a serious challenge facing the world system of higher education is to educate citizens who are capable of navigating and influencing the modern political processes in his country.Youth today actively participate in campaigns carried out by political parties and community organizations.However, it is impossible to develop conditions which foster a civic position without the existence of a political culture.In today’s global community, facing growing pressures of political extremism and radicalism, knowledge of basic political science principles should help students develop a democratic ethos and foster qualities, such as political tolerance, compromise, and cooperation, while learning to express and defend their interests in a civilized manner.The foundation of political science lies in the accumulated knowledge of mankind.This collection was compiled as an aid to college and university students. Each included piece is required reading at some of the best universities on the planet including: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Columbia Universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, among others.This collection includes works famous authors: The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, The Republic by Plato, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, Utopia by Thomas More, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill, The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The State and Revolution by Vladimir lenin.