Marcus Aurelius

Roman emperor, last of the Five Good Emperors, Stoic. The Meditations were private notebooks, never intended for publication — which is why they read the way they do.

Works

• c. 170–180 AD

  Aphorism collection

  Meditations

  Marcus Aurelius's private notebooks — twelve short books written to himself while on military campaign. Never intended for publication, which is why the same arguments recur and the same reminders get re-issued.