Intro Respice ("Look Within") uses text from an old Latin translation of Marcus Aurelius' original Greek passage from his Meditations. Aurelius was a Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor who lived from 121-180 AD. The ancient text speaks to our need to look within and dig within ourselves to find and share our inner goodness with others. The piece features slow, sensitive polyphonic writing coupled with an imitative faster-paced section.