Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and stoic philosopher (121-180 AD). His intellectual interest was Stoicism, a philosophy that emphasized fate, reason, and self-restraint.

Born in Lancashire, England, George Long (1800-1879) was a scholar and professor of classics. He was the editor and author of many scholarly texts and translations. His translations include Discourses of Epictetus and Plutarch's Lives and he is the author of Decline of the Roman Republic, Civil Wars of Rome, and Summary of Herodotus.