Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §10.14.1

Obedience and Goodwill toward Nature Who Gives and Takes

Passage 388 of 486 · Greek

Summary

It describes how an educated and modest person addresses Nature, who gives and takes everything, asking her to give and take as she pleases, out of obedience and goodwill rather than defiance.

§10.14.1Τῇ πάντα διδούσῃ καὶ ἀπολαμβανούσῃ φύσει ὁ πεπαιδευμένος καὶ αἰδήμων λέγει· δὸς ὃ θέλεις· ἀπόλαβε ὃ θέλεις. λέγει δὲ τοῦτο οὐ καταθρασυνόμενος, ἀλλὰ πειθαρχῶν μόνον καὶ εὐνοῶν αὐτῇ.
To Nature, who gives all things and takes them back, the educated and modest man says: "Give what thou wilt; take back what thou wilt." And he says this not in a spirit of defiance, but solely out of obedience and goodwill toward her.

Notes

  1. 10.14.1Τῇ πάντα διδούσῃ καὶ ἀπολαμβανούσῃ φύσει — A feminine singular noun phrase in the dative case, serving as the indirect object of the main verb λέγει, indicating the addressee of the speech.
  2. 10.14.1καταθρασυνόμενος — Present middle participle of καταθρασύνομαι (to behave insolently or defiantly against). Combined with the negative particle οὐ, it describes the subject's manner of speaking as not being defiant or arrogant.
  3. 10.14.1πειθαρχῶν μόνον καὶ εὐνοῶν αὐτῇ — The two participles πειθαρχῶν (obeying) and εὐνοῶν (well-wishing) modify the subject. The dative pronoun αὐτῇ (to/toward her) refers to Nature (φύσις, feminine) and functions as the complement to both participles, particularly the latter.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §10.14.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.14.1

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