Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §10.21.1

Loving Together with the Universe What It Will Do

Passage 395 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author extends poetic verses about the love of earth and ether to the cosmic will, declaring his shared love for whatever the universe brings to pass, and notes the double meaning of the idiom "loves to happen."

§10.21.1ʽἘρᾷ μὲν ὄμβρου γαῖα, ἐρᾷ δὲ ὁ σεμνὸς αἰθήρ,ʼ ἐρᾷ δὲ ὁ κόσμος ποιῆσαι ὃ ἂν μέλλῃ γίνεσθαι.

"The earth loves the rain, and the majestic ether loves it too," and the universe loves to do whatever is about to happen.

λέγω οὖν τῷ κόσμῳ ὅτι σοὶ συνερῶ. μήτι δὲ οὕτω κἀκεῖνο λέγεται, ὅτι· φιλεῖ τοῦτο γίνεσθαι;

Therefore, I say to the universe: "I shall love together with you." And is not that common saying also expressed in this way, namely: "This loves to happen"?

Notes

10.21.1ἐρᾷ... ποιῆσαι — The verb ἐράω usually takes a genitive (like ὄμβρου in the initial quotation) meaning "to love, desire," but here it is used with the infinitive (ποιῆσαι) to mean "is eager to do, loves to do." This formulation transitions from the Euripidean quotation to describe the cosmic impulse.
10.21.1φιλεῖ... γίνεσθαι — While the verb φιλέω means "to love," when combined with an infinitive it functions as an idiom meaning "is wont to," "is accustomed to," or "tends to" (equivalent to Latin solere). The author plays on the dual meaning of "love" and natural necessity.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §10.21.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.21.1

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