A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, Marcus Aurelius'sMeditationsremains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus's insights and adviceon everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with othershave made theMeditationsrequired reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style. In Gregory Hays's new translationthe first in a generationMarcus's thoughts speak with a new immediacy: never before have they been so directly and powerfully presented.