Meditations vs The Prince: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Early works to 1800, Philosophy
Meditations
Meditations is a collection of personal reflections and notes by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161 to 180 AD), offering a profound look into the philosophy of Stoicism. It was never intended for…
vs
The Prince
The Prince (Italian: Il Principe [il ˈprintʃipe]; Latin: De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new…
The verdict
- Readers rate Meditations highest: Meditations 4.3 · The Prince 3.8.
- The Prince has the widest readership — 399010 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Meditations | The Prince | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.3 (378526) | 3.8 (399010) |
| Hardcover | 4.2 (741) | 2.8 (2) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (2) | 3.5 (10) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (298) | 4.0 (1347) |
Reception
| Meditations | The Prince | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 378526 | 399010 |
| Editions | 643 | 1407 |
| Citations | — | 376 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 675230 | 402278 |
| Reading it now | 122246 | 39038 |
| Written reviews | 22394 | 17503 |
| Wikipedia attention | 31655 | 33876 |
| Pages | 214 | 176 |