I am reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius at the moment, and wondered at how it got into my hands today. It was written in the 2nd Century A.D. Did it sit in a vault in Rome for 1500 years until it was published? Or in a monastery? Also, are we very lucky to have even a few ancient texts like these today, and that most of them were lost over the centuries? I have searched the internet for answers but have found none. Thanks
Here is an answer for Meditations: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2fblvd/how_did_meditations_by_marcus_aurelius_survive/
I’ve wondered this in the past. Is there some kind of reference where you can take an ancient source and find out its lineage? For example Pliny’s letters or Cicero’s speeches. Someone must have copied them from wax tablet onto parchment, and then I guess the scrolls must have sat on shelves until someone copied them into books?