Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Himself

1928. This little volume is unique in ancient literature. To read it is to be admitted to intimate communion with one of the most remarkable men that ever sat upon a throne. Tireless, just, self-sacrificing administrator for over forty years, he brings to mind the line that Wordsworth used of Milton: "Thy soul was like a star, and dwelt apart." Notebook, rather than diary, this record of his inner life shows on every page his persistent effort to state to himself without prejudice or predilection the real significance of the details of human experience, as these details affected the determination of his own feeling and his own action.