Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §10.23.1

The Sameness of Life Anywhere and Plato's Shepherd

Passage 397 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author emphasizes that human life and mind remain the same regardless of location, invoking Plato's image of a shepherd milking in a mountain fold.

§10.23.1Ἐναργὲς ἔστω ἀεὶ τὸ ὅτι τοιοῦτο ἐκεῖνο ὁ ἀγρός ἐστι καὶ πῶς πάντα ἐστὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐνθάδε τοῖς ἐν ἄκρῳ τῷ ὄρει ἢ ἐπὶ τοῦ αἰγιαλοῦ ἢ ὅπου θέλεις.
it always be clear to you that that countryside is just such a place, and how all things here are the same as they are for those on the mountain top, or on the seashore, or wherever you will.
ἄντικρυς γὰρ εὑρήσεις τὰ τοῦ Πλάτωνος· ʽσηκὸν ἐν ὄρει, φησί, περιβαλλόμενος καὶ βδάλλων βληχήματα. ʼ
For you will find exactly what Plato says: "fencing himself in a fold on a mountain," he says, "and milking his bleating flocks."

Notes

  1. 10.23.1ἐκεῖνο ὁ ἀγρός — Although ἐκεῖνο is neuter singular, it is used here in apposition to or modifying the masculine noun ὁ ἀγρός, meaning "that countryside of yours." This emphasizes that the countryside is "just such a place (τοιοῦτο)" as any other.
  2. 10.23.1τοῖς ἐν ἄκρῳ τῷ ὄρει — τοῖς is the masculine plural dative article, referring to "those who are." Combined with τὰ αὐτὰ ("the same things"), it means "the same for those on the mountain top," expressing the idea that regardless of geographic relocation, human circumstances and mental states remain identical.
  3. 10.23.1βληχήματα — The accusative plural of the noun βλήχημα ("bleating, bleat"). Serving as the direct object of the transitive verb βδάλλων ("milking"), it functions as a metonymy where the sound ("bleats") represents the animals making the sound ("bleating animals" such as sheep or goats).

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §10.23.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.23.1

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