Collection: Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius, 121 to 180 CE, ran the Roman Empire through plague, war on the frontier and betrayal close to home. The notes we call the Meditations were written at night, on campaign, to no audience at all. He never meant anyone to read them, which is exactly why they are honest.

The same few problems come round again and again, because they were his real problems. What is actually in your control and what is not. How to deal with difficult people without turning into one. How to get up and do the job when you would rather not. How to think about dying without flinching or posturing.

Selections from The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius also appear in Trumpet's Mastery of the Military Mind, bringing the emperor's reflections on self-government and inner discipline alongside the strategic and tactical texts.

There is no system here and no sales pitch. It is a powerful man talking himself into behaving well, every morning, for years. You stop burning yourself on things you cannot move.