Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §10.31.1

Remembering Mortality through the Past to Train Reason

Passage 405 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author advises picturing contemporaries alongside figures of the past, including Caesars for oneself, to remember that all human life turns to nothingness, urging that current difficulties be treated as materials to train and strengthen reason.

§10.31.1Σατυρίωνα ἰδὼν Σωκρατικὸν φαντάζου ἢ Εὐτύχην ἢ Ὑμένα, καὶ Εὐφράτην ἰδὼν Εὐτυχίωνα ἢ Σιλουανὸν φαντάζου, καὶ Ἀλκίφρονα Τροπαιοφόρον φαντάζου, καὶ Σευῆρον ἰδὼν Κρίτωνα ἢ Ξενοφῶντα φαντάζου, καὶ εἰς σεαυτὸν ἀπιδὼν τῶν Καισάρων τινὰ φαντάζου, καὶ ἐφ’ ἑκάστου τὸ ἀνάλογον.
When you see Satyrion, picture to yourself a Socratic, or Eutyches, or Hymen; and when you see Euphrates, picture Eutychion or Silvanus; and picture Alciphron as Tropaeophorus; and when you see Severus, picture Crito or Xenophon; and looking at yourself, picture one of the Caesars, and in the case of every person, the analogue.
εἶτα συμπροσπιπτέτω σοι· ποῦ οὖν ἐκεῖνοι; οὐδαμοῦ ἢ ὁπουδή. οὕτως γὰρ συνεχῶς θεάσῃ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα καπνὸν καὶ τὸ μηδέν, μάλιστα ἐὰν συμμνημονεύσῃς ὅτι τὸ ἅπαξ μεταβαλὸν οὐκέτι ἔσται ἐν τῷ ἀπείρῳ χρόνῳ.
Then let this thought strike you: "Where then are they?" "Nowhere, or wherever it may be." For in this way you will constantly behold human affairs as smoke and nothingness, especially if you also bear in mind that what has once changed will never exist again in infinite time.
τί οὖν ἐντείνῃ;
Why then do you strain yourself?
τί δ’ οὐκ ἀρκεῖ σοι τὸ βραχὺ τοῦτο κοσμίως διαπερᾶσαι;
And why are you not content to pass through this brief span of time in an orderly manner?
Οἵαν ὕλην καὶ ὑπόθεσιν φεύγεις·
What material and subject-matter you are trying to escape!
τί γάρ ἐστι πάντα ταῦτα ἄλλο πλὴν γυμνάσματα λόγου ἑωρακότος ἀκριβῶς καὶ φυσιολόγως τὰ ἐν τῷ βίῳ;
For what are all these things other than exercises for a reason that has observed the things in life accurately and in accordance with nature?
μένε οὖν, μέχρι ἐξοικειώσῃς σεαυτῷ καὶ ταῦτα, ὡς ὁ ἐρρωμένος στόμαχος πάντα ἐξοικειοῖ, ὡς τὸ λαμπρὸν πῦρ, ὅ τι ἂν ἐμβάλῃς, φλόγα ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐγὴν ποιεῖ.
Stay then, until you assimilate these things also to yourself, just as a strong stomach assimilates all things, or as a bright fire makes flame and light out of whatever you throw into it.

Notes

  1. 10.31.1φαντάζου — The second-person singular present middle/passive imperative of φαντάζω, meaning 'picture to yourself' or 'imagine'. Together with the preceding active participle ἰδὼν ('having seen'), it forms a repeated self-exhortation: 'when you see X, picture Y'.
  2. 10.31.1συμπροσπιπτέτω — The third-person singular present active imperative of συμπροσπίπτω ('to fall upon or occur at the same time'). Used in an impersonal-like construction with the subsequent question (ποῦ οὖν ἐκεῖνοι;) serving as the practical subject: 'then let [this thought] strike you at the same time'.
  3. 10.31.1λόγου ἑωρακότος — The genitive noun λόγου ('reason') is modified by ἑωρακότος, the perfect active participle genitive of ὁράω ('having observed' or 'having discerned'). The entire phrase functions as a possessive or descriptive genitive modifying the noun γυμνάσματα ('exercises'): 'exercises of a reason that has observed'.
  4. 10.31.1ἐξοικειώσῃς — The second-person singular aorist active subjunctive of ἐξοικειόω ('to make one's own', 'to assimilate'). Introduced by the conjunction μέχρι ('until'), it denotes purpose or expected completion: 'until you have assimilated'.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §10.31.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.31.1

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