An intellectual study of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations by one of France's most prominent thinkers.

The 2nd-century Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius was not only one of the most powerful men in the world, but has remained one of its most renowned thinkers.

The Meditations, a collection of the emperor's personal writings, are now considered a classic text of Stoic philosophy.

The writings describe how we can fortify ourselves against life's challenges and reach our greatest potential by learning to live well.

Until his retirement, Pierre Hadot held the chair of the History of Hellenistic and Roman Thought at the Collège de France and wrote widely on classical philosophy.

In this study of Aurelius' famous work, Hadot presents the text's ideas while deeply exploring the philosophical and cultural environment in which it was written.