Meditations

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius are not only one of the most important expressions of stoic philosophy but also an enduringly inspiring guide to living a good and just life.

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (A.D. 121–180) embodied in his person that deeply cherished, ideal figure of antiquity, the philosopher-king. Written in moments snatched from military campaigns and the rigors of politics, these ethical and spiritual reflections reveal a mind of exceptional clarity and originality, and a spirit attuned to both the particulars of human destiny and the vast patterns that underlie it.

A.S.L. Farquharson (1871–1942) spent a lifetime on his edition of the Meditations, which is one of the outstanding twentieth-century achievements of classical scholarship. All the notes to the Farquharson translation, amplifying the twelve books of the Meditations, are included in this volume.