Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §10.11.1

Contemplating Universal Change and Living by the Law

Passage 385 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author emphasizes the importance of observing the mutual change of all things, and describes the ideal life of a sage who abandons bodily desires and public opinion to commit himself to justice, the nature of the whole, and the guidance of God.

§10.11.1Πῶς εἰς ἄλληλα πάντα μεταβάλλει, θεωρητικὴν μέθοδον κτῆσαι καὶ διηνεκῶς πρόσεχε καὶ συγγυμνάσθητι περὶ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος· οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως μεγαλοφροσύνης ποιητικόν.
Acquire a method of observing how all things change into one another, and constantly attend to this, and exercise yourself in this department; for nothing is so productive of greatness of mind.
ἐξεδύσατο τὸ σῶμα καὶ ἐννοήσας ὅτι ὅσον οὐδέπω πάντα ταῦτα καταλιπεῖν ἀπιόντα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων δεήσει, ἀνῆκεν ὅλον ἑαυτὸν δικαιοσύνῃ μὲν εἰς τὰ ὑφ’ ἑαυτοῦ ἐνεργούμενα, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις συμβαίνουσι τῇ τῶν ὅλων φύσει.
He has stripped off the body, and, having reflected that he must almost immediately leave all these things behind and depart from among men, he has committed his whole self to justice in those things which are done by him, and to the nature of the whole in other things which happen.
τί δ’ ἐρεῖ τις ἢ ὑπολήψεται περὶ αὐτοῦ ἢ πράξει κατ’ αὐτοῦ, οὐδ’ εἰς νοῦν βάλλεται, δύο τούτοις ἀρκούμενος, εἰ αὐτὸς δικαιοπραγεῖ τὸ νῦν πρασσόμενον καὶ φιλεῖ τὸ νῦν ἀπονεμόμενον ἑαυτῷ· ἀσχολίας δὲ πάσας καὶ σπουδὰς ἀφῆκε καὶ οὐδὲν ἄλλο βούλεται ἢ εὐθεῖαν περαίνειν διὰ τοῦ νόμου καὶ εὐθεῖαν περαίνοντι ἕπεσθαι τῷ θεῷ.
But what anyone will say or think of him or do against him, he does not even direct his mind to it, being satisfied with these two things: if he himself does justice in what is now being done, and loves what is now allotted to him; and he has laid aside all business and activities, and desires nothing else than to go straight through the law, and to follow God who goes straight.

Notes

  1. 10.11.1ὅσον οὐδέπω — An adverbial idiom meaning "all but," "almost," or "very soon." It combines ὅσον ("as much as") and οὐδέπω ("not yet") to express an imminent state with very little time remaining.
  2. 10.11.1ἐξεδύσατο — Indicative aorist middle. Rather than referring to a specific past event, it functions as a gnomic aorist, describing the ideal state or actions of a philosophical sage as a universal truth.
  3. 10.11.1εὐθεῖαν — Accusative feminine singular adjective ("straight"). The noun ὁδόν ("way/path") is omitted, forming the idiom "to go through a straight path" with περαίνειν.
  4. 10.11.1εὐθεῖαν περαίνοντι — Dative participle. Agreeing with the following τῷ θεῷ ("to God"), it is best interpreted as "to follow God who goes straight," which aligns with the Stoic view of God or Nature as a rational guide moving in a straight path. Alternatively, it could agree with an implied dative reflexive pronoun ("to follow God while [oneself] going straight"), but the former reading presents a more natural grammatical connection.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §10.11.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.11.1

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