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.

Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket. Everyman's Library Classics include an introduction, a select bibliography, and a chronology of the author's life and times.