Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §10.13.1

Indifference to Blame and the Soul's Turn to Virtue

Passage 387 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The text advises asking oneself upon waking not to care about external criticism, while reminding of the internal corruption of hypocrites and the soul's power to become virtuous when it wills.

§10.13.1Πυνθάνεσθαι ἑαυτοῦ εὐθὺς ἐξ ὕπνου γενόμενον· μήτι διοίσει σοι, ἐὰν ὑπὸ ἄλλου ψέγηται τὰ δίκαια καὶ καλῶς ἔχοντα;
Ask yourself as soon as you are awake from sleep: Will it make any difference to you if what is just and right is blamed by another?
οὐ διοίσει.
It will not.
μήτι ἐπιλέλησαι ὅτι οὗτοι οἱ ἐν τοῖς περὶ ἄλλων ἐπαίνοις καὶ ψόγοις φρυαττόμενοι τοιοῦτοι μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης εἰσί, τοιοῦτοι δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης, οἷα δὲ ποιοῦσιν, οἷα δὲ φεύγουσιν, οἷα δὲ διώκουσιν, οἷα δὲ κλέπτουσιν, οἷα δὲ ἁρπάζουσιν, οὐ χερσὶ καὶ ποσίν, ἀλλὰ τῷ τιμιωτάτῳ ἑαυτῶν μέρει, ὃ γίνεται ὅταν θέλῃ, πίστις, αἰδώς, ἀλήθεια, νόμος, ἀγαθὸς δαίμων;
Have you forgotten that these who carry themselves so haughtily in their praises and blamings of others are such men in bed, and such at table, and what things they do, what they avoid, what they pursue, what they steal, what they rob, not with hands and feet, but with their most precious part, which, when it wills, becomes faith, modesty, truth, law, a good daemon?

Notes

  1. §10.13.1Πυνθάνεσθαι — Infinitive used in place of an imperative (imperative infinitive). The accusative participle `γενόμενον` agrees with the implied subject of this infinitive.
  2. §10.13.1ὃ γίνεται ὅταν θέλῃ, πίστις, αἰδώς, ἀλήθεια, νόμος, ἀγαθὸς δαίμων — The relative pronoun `ὃ` refers back to the neuter noun `τῷ τιμιωτάτῳ ἑαυτῶν μέρει` (the ruling center). The series of nominative nouns (`πίστις`, etc.) serve as predicate nominatives to `γίνεται`, showing that the ruling center, when it wills, becomes these virtues themselves.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §10.13.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.13.1

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