Meditations

Marcus Aurelius was the most powerful man in the world, emperor of Rome from 161 to 180, and he spent many of his last years on campaign along the Danube. At night in his tent he wrote notes to himself in Greek, never meant for publication: reminders to be patient with difficult people, to remember how short life is, to do his duty without complaining and to accept what he could not change.

The Meditations are the most personal document of Stoic philosophy and one of the most widely read books of antiquity today, beloved by soldiers, athletes and people going through hard times. Read a few entries a day rather than straight through; they were written that way.

Marcus Aurelius (121–180) was adopted as heir by the emperor Antoninus Pius and ruled Rome from 161 until his death. He had been trained in Stoic philosophy since his youth, and he tried to live by it through a reign full of trouble: a devastating plague, floods and long wars on the Danube frontier.

He never wrote for the public. His private notes, the Meditations, were kept by those around him and survived by chance, and today they are among the most widely read books of antiquity. His son Commodus, who succeeded him, could hardly have been more different.