"Be like a rock: the waves constantly break against it, yet it stands immovably, and around it the troubled waters subside." Marcus Aurelius doubted and feared, knew of others' treachery and rudeness, was discussed and condemned — and yet he invariably found in himself the strength to maintain composure, fortitude, and firmness of character. His journal reveals a colossal effort of self-improvement, a meticulous analysis of feelings and thoughts, which allowed him to become one of the five good emperors during whose reign the Roman Empire reached its greatest flourishing. In this edition, the original text is presented alongside the parallel translation by S. M. Rogovin, a professor at Moscow University and a historian of philosophy and translator. For convenience, each point in Russian is placed opposite the corresponding point in ancient Greek. Artists and engravers of different eras often turned to antiquity, striving both to capture its cultural heritage with remarkable accuracy and to create their own myth of the majestic Ancient Rome. The inevitability of the ancient civilization's demise, the search for a path, the irreversible flow of time, and extinction — these themes captivated Giovanni Piranesi, Albrecht Dürer, Antonio Lafreri, Lambert Zuchman, Fabio Berardi, Antonio Veneziano, Giovanni Brambilla, Angelica Kaufmann, Jean Barbault, Johann Heinrich Füssli, whose works are presented in this edition. Antonio Lafreri, an engraver and cartographer, began publishing images of Rome in the 16th century, created by his hand and the hands of other artists, who sometimes hid behind a monogram. Later, these works became known under the name Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; some of them also illustrate the present book of Marcus Aurelius. A cream-colored ribbon bookmark, a hard cover with embossed elements, bronze foil stamping, illustrations, and a gift layout add to the book's appeal. The exquisite design makes the book not only an excellent addition to one’s collection, but also a pleasant gift for loved ones.
