"Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good." Meditations contains the private wisdom of Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, and a great philosopher. His Meditations were never intended for publication. They were his personal thoughts and spiritual reflections, which he wrote down and referred to in order to help him manage the challenges of governing the Roman Empire while maintaining a peaceful private life. His philosophy articulated the need for inner peace and moral certainty in a world filled with chaos and suffering. The insights found in Meditations are just as helpful today as when Marcus Aurelius first wrote them nearly two millennia ago.