In the second century C.E., while leading Roman soldiers in battle against rebels and invaders, Emperor Marcus Aurelius recorded his thoughts about how to lead a good life in a cruel, chaotic world. His reflections have come down to us in a book whose most common title in English is Meditations. It is worth reading any time, but especially now, when human actions are degrading the conditions for life on Earth, when plutocrats and predatory corporations have captured our political system, when our courts coddle the rich and punish the poor, when our nation squanders its wealth on weaponry and conducts endless wars, when social media spread conspiracy theories and lies, all while consumerism and round-the-clock entertainment distract us from these abuses.

Inspired by Stoic philosophy, Marcus articulated ways of maintaining one’s sanity, and living by one’s principles, in the midst of violence and corruption. What he calls virtuous action closely resembles what Buddhists call right action: one should always act in light of one’s deepest values, without needing to believe that one’s actions, or any actions, will cure the world’s ills.

Among English editions of the book, I favor the Meditations translated and introduced by Maxwell Staniforth (Penguin 1964). I also like the more recent translation by C. Scot Hicks and David V. Hicks, who call their version The Emperor’s Handbook (Scribner, 2002).