Marcus Aurelius wrote a journal for the last twenty years of his life. It did not have a clear literary structure, as Marcus wrote it as personal instructions for himself. 2. He never intended to publish his work. Nonetheless, it was published almost 14 centuries later. 3. When Marcus Aurelius died in 180 CE, his literary legacy "Meditations" was moved into secret custody by people unknown. Even his children were unaware of its presence. 4. In the mid-3rd century, the historian Herodian mentions "Meditations" for the first time in his History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus. 5. The first direct mention comes from Arethas of Caesarea (860–935 CE), a bishop and a manuscripts collector. 6. The first print, named the Codex Palatinus, was published in 1558 CE by Wilhelm Xylander, which is lost. Xylander had received a codex from the doctor and poet Michael Toxites. When the first copy came out, it was in Greek, the original language in which Marcus wrote it. 67 The oldest surviving print is the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican Library since 1683 CE. 8. The first English translation came out in 1634; it carried the original title To Himself. We now know it as Meditations. Today, we have many English translations. The most famous ones are by Gregory Hays, George Long, Robin Hard, and Martin Hammond.