Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, distills the wisdom of great thinkers before him into a volume that has stood the test of time. A compendium of ruminations and reflections by the 2nd century Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, a staunch adherent to the Stoic philosophy. It is a spiritual journal of the author’s philosophical exercises and a chronicle of the paradox of the philosopher-king who must enforce the law and administer justice while looking beyond politics to the cosmic vantage point from which the tribulations of politics come to seem trivial.