M. Aurelius Antoninus and the Philosophy of Antoninus

Marcus Aurelius ruled as Roman emperor from 161 to 180 A.D.  He was preceded as emperor by Antonius Pius.  Pius succeeded Hadrian, who adopted Pius as his heir on the condition that Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius would rule after Pius.

After Pius’ death, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus ruled jointly from 161 – 169 A.D. , until Verus’ death. Marcus Aurelius was known as a “philosopher king”, and he is best known for his Meditations, a collection of twelve books on philosophy originally written by him in Greek.


One of the principal translators of Aurelius’s work was George Long, who (not surprisingly) was well versed in Aurelius’s life and writings. Long was a scholar of classic Ancient Greek and Roman literature in general, and as a result, Long ended up writing his own original works about Aurelius, including M. Aurelius Antoninus and The Philosophy of Antoninus.


This edition of Long’s works include pictures of Aurelius and a Table of Contents.