On the front line of war, inside a tent, he recorded his thoughts, gave himself advice, and encouraged himself with the power of philosophy. With the aim of remaining true to the ideas he had embraced since his youth, to endure hardships, not to be swept away by the torrent of events, not to become an ordinary man of power, but to remain what he was: a philosopher-emperor.

He did not intend to publish them. He wrote to stay strong. He did not believe in posthumous fame. He did not even believe that anyone would remember him. But he was proven wrong. Eighteen centuries have passed since then, and the Meditations still live on. They have seen countless editions, loved and praised by numerous authors as an inexhaustible source of wisdom. As the “eternal gospel,” as Renan described them.