It brings Marcus’s words to life and shows his wisdom to be as relevant today as it was in the second century. The Emperor’s Handbook offers a vivid and fresh translation of this important piece of ancient literature. The historian Michael Grant praises Marcus’s book as “the best ever written by a major ruler,” and Josiah Bunting, superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute, calls it “the essential book on character, leadership, duty.” Never intended for publication, the Meditations contains the practical and inspiring wisdom by which this remarkable emperor lived the life not of a saintly recluse, but of a general, administrator, legislator, spouse, parent, and judge besieged on all sides. Marcus knew the secret of how to live the good life amid trying and often catastrophic circumstances, of how to find happiness and peace when surrounded by misery and turmoil, and of how to choose the harder right over the easier wrong without apparent regard for self-interest. Marcus Aurelius ruled the Roman Empire at its height, yet he remained untainted by the incalculable wealth and absolute power that had corrupted many of his predecessors. In the tradition of The Art of Living and Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations-a practical book of timeless advice from one of the most powerful individuals in history-available for the first time in a highly accessible translation, including several unique features for contemporary readers and users of daily wisdom guides.Įssayist Matthew Arnold described the man who wrote these words as “the most beautiful figure in history.” Possibly so, but he was certainly more than that.

The emperor's handbook