
121 – 180
Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor who ruled almost 2,000 years ago and was also a thoughtful philosopher. While leading his empire, he wrote private notes to himself about how to stay calm, fair, and wise — later collected into a famous book called Meditations. He is remembered as one of the rare rulers who tried hard to be genuinely good.
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”