In a lifetime of reading, only a tiny handful of special books will have that life-changing quality that causes you to read and re-read them over and over, poring over every line until you could practically quote any passage in the book. One of those books, for me, is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, one of the classics of Stoic philosophy.

Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor, but he was also a man who believed very deeply in doing the right thing. He had received an education in Stoic philosophy, and he tried to apply its teachings to both his daily life and the conduct of the imperial government- which makes him very rare and possibly unique among Roman emperors.

During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, Rome was no longer expanding. In fact, it was under threat from multiple enemies- several different German tribes, and the Phrygian Empire. Instead of spending his time reading and thinking as he wanted to do, Marcus was forced to spend most of his reign campaigning on the empire's distant frontiers, with access to only a few of his beloved books. This, and his hatred of the culture of scheming opportunists and fawning sycophants at the imperial court, could have made him a very unhappy man despite his nearly limitless wealth and power.

The teachings of the Stoic philosophers taught him to withdraw judgment from anything over which he had no control, and he tried very hard to live up to that philosophy. The Meditations were never intended to be read by another person- they are actually just the emperor's private diary, in which he constantly reminded himself to live up to the high principles of the Stoic way of life. The warmth, sincerity and human wisdom of his thoughts have continued to exert influence across all the centuries since he first put pen to paper.