Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §10.1.1

Aspiration for the Soul's Self-Sufficiency and Cosmic Harmony

Passage 375 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author addresses his own soul, asking with deep longing whether it will ever become good, self-sufficient, and fully satisfied with the present, aligning itself with the cosmic order (the perfect living being) and living in perfect harmony with both gods and men.

§10.1.1Ἔσῃ ποτὲ ἆρα, ὦ ψυχή, ἀγαθὴ καὶ ἁπλῆ καὶ μία καὶ γυμνή, φανερωτέρα τοῦ περικειμένου σοι σώματος;

Will you ever, O my soul, be good and simple and one and naked, more manifest than the body which surrounds you?

γεύσῃ ποτὲ ἆρα τῆς φιλητικῆς καὶ στερκτικῆς διαθέσεως;

Will you ever taste of a loving and affectionate disposition?

ἔσῃ ποτὲ ἆρα πλήρης καὶ ἀνενδεὴς καὶ οὐδὲν ἐπιποθοῦσα οὐδὲ ἐπιθυμοῦσα οὐδενὸς οὔτε ἐμψύχου οὔτε ἀψύχου πρὸς ἡδονῶν ἀπολαύσεις;

Will you ever be full and without need, longing for nothing and desiring nothing, either animate or inanimate, for the enjoyment of pleasures?

οὐδὲ χρόνου, ἐν ᾧ ἐπὶ μακρότερον ἀπολαύσεις; οὐδὲ τόπου ἢ χώρας ἢ ἀέρων εὐκρασίας; οὐδὲ ἀνθρώπων εὐαρμοστίας;

Nor desiring time, in which you may enjoy them longer, nor place, or country, or mildness of climate, or harmony of men?

ἀλλὰ ἀρκεσθήσῃ τῇ παρούσῃ καταστάσει καὶ ἡσθήσῃ τοῖς παροῦσι πᾶσι καὶ συμπείσεις σεαυτὴν ὅτι πάντα σοι παρὰ τῶν θεῶν πάρεστι, πάντα σοι εὖ ἔχει καὶ εὖ ἕξει, ὅσα φίλον αὐτοῖς καὶ ὅσα μέλλουσι δώσειν ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τοῦ τελείου ζῴου, τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ δικαίου καὶ καλοῦ καὶ γεννῶντος πάντα καὶ συνέχοντος καὶ περιέχοντος καὶ περιλαμβάνοντος διαλυόμενα εἰς γένεσιν ἑτέρων ὁμοίων;

But will you be satisfied with your present condition, and take pleasure in all that is present, and persuade yourself that all things are present to you from the gods, and that all is well with you and will be well, whatever is pleasing to them, and whatever they are about to give for the preservation of the perfect living being—the good, just, and beautiful, which begets all things and holds them together and surrounds them and embraces them when they are dissolved for the generation of other similar things?

ἔσῃ ποτὲ ἆρα τοιαύτη, οἵα θεοῖς τε καὶ ἀνθρώποις οὕτως συμπολιτεύεσθαι ὡς μήτε μέμφεσθαί τι αὐτοῖς μήτε καταγινώσκεσθαι ὑπ’ αὐτῶν;

Will you ever be such as to share a common citizenship with gods and men so as neither to find any fault with them nor to be condemned by them?

Notes

10.1.1διαλυόμενα — A neuter plural accusative participle modifying the implied object of the preceding participle `περιλαμβάνοντος` ("embracing"). It refers to the constituent elements or things that "are dissolved" for the generation of other similar things.
10.1.1οὐδὲ χρόνου — This phrase continues the negative construction of the preceding `οὐδὲ ἐπιθυμοῦσα οὐδενὸς` ("desiring nothing"). The genitives `χρόνου` ("time"), `τόπου` ("place"), and `ἀνθρώπων` ("men") are all coordinated as objects of the participle `ἐπιθυμοῦσα`.
10.1.1οἵα ... συμπολιτεύεσθαι — The correlative construction of the feminine singular pronoun `οἵα` (corresponding to `τοιαύτη` in the main clause) with the infinitive `συμπολιτεύεσθαι` ("to live as a fellow citizen") expresses the result or characteristic ("such as to live in a common society") expected of the soul.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §10.1.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.1.1

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