Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §10.38.1

The Inner Governing Part and the Body as a Tool

Passage 412 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author explains that the true essence of a human being is not the physical body but the inner governing principle, using analogies of puppets and tools.

§10.38.1Μέμνησο ὅτι τὸ νευροσπαστοῦν ἐστιν ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἔνδον ἐγκεκρυμμένον· ἐκεῖνο ῥητορεία, ἐκεῖνο ζωή, ἐκεῖνο, εἰ δεῖ εἰπεῖν, ἄνθρωπος.
Remember that what pulls the strings is that which is hidden within; that is eloquence, that is life, that is, if one may say so, the human being.
μηδέποτε συμπεριφαντάζου τὸ περικείμενον ἀγγειῶδες καὶ τὰ ὀργάνια ταῦτα τὰ περιπεπλασμένα· ὅμοια γάρ ἐστι σκεπάρνῳ, μόνον διαφέροντα, καθότι προσφυῆ ἐστιν.
Never include in your imagination the surrounding vessel and these instrumentalities fashioned around it; for they are like an adze, differing only in that they are naturally attached to us.
ἐπεί τοι οὐ μᾶλλόν τι τούτων ὄφελός ἐστι τῶν μορίων χωρὶς τῆς κινούσης καὶ ἰσχούσης αὐτὰ αἰτίας, ἢ τῆς κερκίδος τῇ ὑφαντρίᾳ καὶ τοῦ καλάμου τῷ γράφοντι καὶ τοῦ μαστιγίου τῷ ἡνιόχῳ.
Indeed, without the cause that moves and stops them, there is no more utility in these parts than there is in the shuttle to the weaver, the reed-pen to the writer, and the whip to the charioteer.

Notes

  1. 10.38.1τὸ νευροσπαστοῦν — Present active participle neuter singular of νευροσπαστέω ('to pull the strings of a puppet'). In Marcus Aurelius, it refers to the inner ruling principle (hegemonikon) that acts as the puppeteer, in contrast to being pulled by external impulses. It functions as the subject here.
  2. 10.38.1συμπεριφαντάζου — Present middle/passive imperative of συμπεριφαντάζομαι ('to imagine together'). The prefix συμ- indicates the prohibition of imagining the physical body (the vessel) 'together with' or 'confused with' the true inner self (ἐκεῖνο).
  3. 10.38.1οὐ μᾶλλόν τι τούτων ὄφελός ἐστι τῶν μορίων χωρὶς... ἢ... — A comparative construction using οὐ μᾶλλον... ἤ... ('no more... than...'). The noun ὄφελος ('use', 'benefit') governs the genitive of the thing that is of use (τούτων τῶν μορίων / τῆς κερκίδος) and the dative of interest of the person for whom it is useful (τῇ ὑφαντρίᾳ, etc.). It compares the uselessness of bodily parts without the animating cause to that of tools without their craftsmen.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §10.38.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.38.1

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