Marcus Aurelius (born April 26, 121 CE) was a Roman emperor (161-180) who focused to rule using Stoicism, a school of philosophy designed to help one live the most virtuous life. His mantra for life, “Do the right thing. The rest doesn't matter,” is what would help Marcus fight corruption, evil, and hypocrisy. To not just say what was right, but to do what was right.
Marcus was an insomniac. This places emphasis on his legendary work as an emperor, even if he didn't have an easy time of it, he still rose to the challenge of the day and worked towards the highest good.
Marcus is famously associated with stoic philosophy, another name he is considered by is Stoic Emperor, but he never identifies with the stoics. He quotes what many famous stoics from his time said, but he would have saw himself as a philosopher, rather than specifically a stoic philosopher.
Best known for his personal diary, "Meditations", on Stoic philosophy. This journal contains, as the name suggests, meditations on his life which he kept close to heart at every moment in his life. Following these meditations, and as such, the stoic philosophy, he was always commited to the highest good he could achieve. For this reason he not only became a good man, but also emperor, as he has symbolized, for many generations in the West, the Golden Age of the Roman Empire.
Famous Marcus Aurelius Quotes:
"You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think."
"A person's wealth is measured by the worth of what he values."
"The best revenge is not to be like your enemy."
"When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil."
During a plague that swept Rome, when Rome's treasury was depleted and the economy was falling apart, Marcus held a garage sale. He walked through the imperial palace marking just about anything that he would sell later on the lawn of the palace: goblets, jewels, robes, and couches. These were among the many things he would sell to raise money for the people of Rome affected by the Antonine Plague.