Marcus himself didn't give a title to his collected writings. For one thing, he never intended his works to be copied and circulated—it was more like a personal journal he kept over the years. In fact, only one complete manuscript of the Meditations has survived (it lives in the Vatican Library). Modern editions are based on this manuscript and a now lost one, which is preserved in a printed edition from 1558. The current title was given to the work by scholars to describe the self-reflexive nature of Marcus's writings.