Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121 to 180 CE) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death. He was the last of the "five good emperors". His reign was troubled: a plague that spread through the empire, pressure from tribes on the northern frontier, and long campaigns along the Danube, where he spent much of his later life.

The Meditations

The Meditations are a set of notes in Greek that he wrote for himself, apparently in the camps, with no intention to publish. The title "Meditations" was given later; the Greek name means something like "to himself". They return to the same few ideas: the shortness of life, the duty to others, the need to control one's own judgements, and the unity of everything. The manuscript tradition is thin, and the text was published in the sixteenth century.

Reading him

Many readers value the book because it is honest: a powerful man reminding himself, again and again, to be patient and fair. It is repetitive and rewards reading a little at a time. See how to read the Meditations.

The text is George Long's English translation of 1862, in the public domain, and its old-fashioned English ("thou", "thy") is unchanged. The notes beside it are our own wording. Marcus Aurelius wrote these for himself; they are a diary, not a book of rules.