Meditations (Koinē Greek: Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν, romanized: Ta eis heauton, lit.

''Things Unto Himself'') is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161-180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy.

[2] It is possible that large portions of the work were written at Sirmium, where he spent much time planning military campaigns from 170-180 AD.

A central theme to Meditations is the importance of analyzing one's judgment of self and others and developing a cosmic perspective:[3]You have the power to strip away many superfluous troubles located wholly in your judgment, and to possess a large room for yourself embracing in thought the whole cosmos, to consider everlasting time, to think of the rapid change in the parts of each thing, of how short it is from birth until dissolution, and how the void before birth and that after dissolution are equally infinite.

"[4] His Stoic ideas often involve avoiding indulgence in sensory affections, a skill which will free a man from the pains and pleasures of the material world.

The Historia Augusta's biography of Avidius Cassius, thought to have been written in the 4th century, records that before Marcus set out on the Marcomannic Wars, he was asked to publish his Precepts of Philosophy in case something should befall him, but he instead "for three days discussed the books of his Exhortations one after the other".

"[7] Another possible reference is in the collection of Greek poems known as the Palatine Anthology, a work dating to the 10th century but containing much earlier material.

[13] This, specifically after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, as it was among the Greek texts reintroduced by fleeing scholars to European intellectual circles.

[15] The modern history of the Meditations dates from the issue of the first printed edition (editio princeps) by Wilhelm Xylander in 1558 or 1559.

[16] Conrad Gesner stated in his dedicatory letter that he "received the books of Marcus from the gifted poet Michael Toxites from the library of Otto Heinrich, Prince Palatine", i.e. from the collection at Heidelberg University.

[15] Marcus Aurelius has been lauded for his capacity "to write down what was in his heart just as it was, not obscured by any consciousness of the presence of listeners or any striving after effect."

Though Murray criticizes Marcus for the "harshness and plainness of his literary style", he finds in his Meditations "as much intensity of feeling...as in most of the nobler modern books of religion, only [with] a sterner power controlling it."

[21] Bertrand Russell found them contradictory and inconsistent, evidence of a "tired age" where "even real goods lose their savour."

"[22] Both Russell and Rees find an element of Marcus' Stoic philosophy in the philosophical system of Immanuel Kant.

[21][22] In the Introduction to his 1964 translation of Meditations, the Anglican priest Maxwell Staniforth discussed the profound impact of Stoicism on Christianity.

[23] Michael Grant called Marcus Aurelius "the noblest of all the men who, by sheer intelligence and force of character, have prized and achieved goodness for its own sake and not for any reward.

"[24] Gregory Hays' translation of Meditations for The Modern Library made The Washington Post's bestseller list for two weeks in 2002.

[26] It has been described as "a favorite" of former United States President Bill Clinton,[27] A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all – that is myself.Be like a rocky promontory against which the restless surf continually pounds; it stands fast while the churning sea is lulled to sleep at its feet.

"When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly.

The things we want in life are empty, stale, trivial.Never regard something as doing you good if it makes you betray a trust or lose your sense of shame or makes you show hatred, suspicion, ill-will or hypocrisy or a desire for things best done behind closed doors.Not to feel exasperated or defeated or despondent because your days aren't packed with wise and moral actions.

But to get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human—however imperfectly—and fully embrace the pursuit you've embarked on.Let opinion be taken away, and no man will think himself wronged.

Not in a critical way, or to show off my patience, but genuinely and usefully.Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years.

And in most cases you should be helped by the saying of Epicurus, that pain is never unbearable or unending, so you can remember these limits and not add to them in your imagination.

It’s the same, whether you’ve examined these things for a hundred years, or only three.Keep this thought handy when you feel a bit of rage coming on – it isn't manly to be enraged.

So always stay within your first impressions, and don't add to them in your head – this way nothing can happen to you.Drama, combat, terror, numbness, and subservience – every day these things wipe out your sacred principles, whenever your mind entertains them uncritically or lets them slip in.I'm constantly amazed by how easily we love ourselves above all others, yet we put more stock in the opinions of others than in our own estimation of self....How much credence we give to the opinions our peers have of us and how little to our very own!Does the light of a lamp shine and keep its glow until its fuel is spent?

Why shouldn't your truth, justice, and self-control shine until you are extinguished?Words that everyone once used are now obsolete, and so are the men whose names were once on everyone's lips: Camillus, Caeso, Volesus, Dentatus, and to a lesser degree Scipio and Cato, and yes, even Augustus, Hadrian, and Antoninus are less spoken of now than they were in their own days.

This alone: justice in thought, goodness in action, speech that cannot deceive, and a disposition glad of whatever comes, welcoming it as necessary, as familiar, as flowing from the same source and fountain as yourself.Do not then consider life a thing of any value.

The world-order is a unity made up of multiplicity: God is one, pervading all things; all being is one, all law is one (namely, the common reason which all thinking persons possess) and all truth is one– if, as we believe, there can be but one path to perfection for beings that are alike in kind and reason.Marcus Aurelius wrote the following about Severus (a person who is not clearly identifiable according to the footnote): Through him [...] I became acquainted with the conception of a community based on equality and freedom of speech for all, and of a monarchy concerned primarily to uphold the liberty of the subject.The editio princeps (first print edition) of the original Greek was published by Conrad Gessner and his cousin Andreas in 1559.