The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

Classic teachings on the art of living by the great Roman emperor, statesman, and general.

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote these meditations in the form of a personal journal during his campaigns against the barbarians in the second century. In them, he reflects with great beauty and simplicity upon the Stoic virtues that lead to a happy life: self-mastery, moral strength, duty to oneself and others, detachment, and acceptance of the will of God and the way of nature.