The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. Flickr/Sébastien Bertrand The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius ruled from 161 to 180 AD, and developed a reputation for being the ideal wise leader Plato termed the "philosopher king."

Marcus has remained relevant for 1,800 years largely due to his writings collected as "Meditations," which President Bill Clinton has said is one of his favorite books.

"Meditations" is closer to a diary than a philosophical treatise. Marcus wrote its 12 books sometime during the tumultuous last decade of his life.

He dealt with hardships by turning to philosophy, specifically the Stoicism of the ancient Greeks and his contemporary Roman philosophers. "Meditations" reveals that Marcus remained in control of his emotions through the beliefs that nature unfolds in a perfect way and that one must accept that they cannot change the past or what other people feel in their hearts.

We went through Gregory Hays' translation and highlighted recurring points.