Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was born on April 26, A.D. 121. His real name was M. Annius Verus, and he was sprung of a noble family which claimed descent from Numa, second King of Rome. Thus the most religious of emperors came of the blood of the most pious of early kings. The book reveals a vision of a universe governed by a natural law that obliges us to love mankind and to govern our lives in accordance with the natural order of things.
