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Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §1.14.1-1.14.2

Severus: Love of Justice and the Ideal of a Free State

Passage 14 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Marcus recalls learning from his brother Severus the love of justice, truth, and family, conceiving the idea of a free and equal state, as well as acquiring consistency, generosity, frankness, and clarity in his personal relationships.

§1.14.1Παρὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μου Σεουήρου τὸ φιλοίκειον καὶ φιλάληθες καὶ φιλοδίκαιον· καὶ τὸ δι’ αὐτοῦ γνῶναι Θρασέαν, Ἑλβίδιον, Κάτωνα, Δίωνα, Βροῦτον, καὶ φαντασίαν λαβεῖν πολιτείας ἰσονόμου, κατ’ ἰσότητα καὶ ἰσηγορίαν διοικουμένης, καὶ βασιλείας τιμώσης πάντων μάλιστα τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῶν ἀρχομένων· §1.14.2καὶ ἔτι παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ τὸ ὁμαλὲς καὶ ὁμότονον ἐν τῇ τιμῇ τῆς· καὶ τὸ εὐποιητικὸν καὶ τὸ εὐμετάδοτον ἐκτενῶς καὶ τὸ εὔελπι καὶ τὸ πιστευτικὸν περὶ τοῦ ὑπὸ τῶν φίλων φιλεῖσθαι· καὶ τὸ ἀνεπίκρυπτον πρὸς τοὺς καταγνώσεως ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ τυγχάνοντας· καὶ τὸ μὴ δεῖσθαι στοχασμοῦ τοὺς φίλους αὐτοῦ περὶ τοῦ τί θέλει ἢ τί οὐ θέλει, ἀλλὰ δῆλον εἶναι.
From my brother Severus, love of family, love of truth, and love of justice; and through him to have come to know Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion, Brutus, and to have conceived the idea of a constitution based on equal laws, governed in accordance with equality and freedom of speech, and of a monarchy which values above all things the freedom of the governed; and further, from him, consistency and undeviating steadiness in his respect for [...]; and readiness to do good, generosity in giving, hopefulness, and trust in the affection of his friends; and his frankness towards those who met with his censure; and that his friends had no need to guess what he wished or did not wish, but it was plain to them.

Notes

  1. 1.14.2τῆς · — There is a lacuna in the Greek text after the article "τῆς". Scholars often supply a genitive noun such as "φιλοσοφίας" (philosophy) to complete the sense.
  2. 1.14.2τὸ μὴ δεῖσθαι στοχασμοῦ τοὺς φίλους — An accusative and infinitive construction introduced by the article `τὸ`. The present infinitive `δεῖσθαι` ("to need", from `δέομαι`) takes the accusative `τοὺς φίλους` as its subject and governs the genitive `στοχασμοῦ` ("conjecture") as its object.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §1.14.1-1.14.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.14.1-1.14.2

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