Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was born to an upper-class Roman family
in A.D. 121 and was later adopted by the future emperor Antoninus
Pius, whom he succeeded in 161. His reign was marked by a
successful campaign against Parthia, but was overshadowed in later
years by plague, an abortive revolt in the eastern provinces, and
the deaths of friends and family, including his co-emperor Lucius
Verus. A student of philosophy from his earliest youth, he was
especially influenced by the first-century Stoic thinker Epictetus.
His later reputation rests on his Meditations, written during his
later years and never meant for formal publication. He died in 180,
while campaigning against the barbarian tribes on Rome's northern
frontier.
Gregory Hays is assistant professor of classics at the University
of Virginia. He has published articles and reviews on various
ancient writers and is currently completing a translation and
critical study of the mythographer Fulgentius.
“The emperor Marcus Aurelius, the proverbial philosopher-king,
produced in Greek a Roman manual of piety, the Meditations, whose
impact has been felt for ages since. Here, for our age, is his
great work presented in its entirety, strongly introduced and
freshly, elegantly translated by Gregory Hays for the Modern
Library.”
—Robert Fagles
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