Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §10.4.1

Instructing Others Kindly and Blaming Oneself

Passage 378 of 486 · Greek

Summary

It explains that if someone makes a mistake, one should kindly teach and correct them; if that is impossible, one should blame oneself, or not even blame oneself.

§10.4.1Εἰ μὲν σφάλλεται, διδάσκειν εὐμενῶς καὶ τὸ παρορώμενον δεικνύναι.
If someone makes a mistake, teach him kindly and show him what he has overlooked.
εἰ δὲ ἀδυνατεῖς, σεαυτὸν αἰτιᾶσθαι ἢ μηδὲ σεαυτόν.
But if you are unable to do so, blame yourself, or do not even blame yourself.

Notes

  1. §10.4.1διδάσκειν — An imperative infinitive (infinitivus imperativus) used in place of an imperative verb. The subsequent infinitives δεικνύναι and αἰτιᾶσθαι are also used in the same manner to express a command or exhortation to the reader.
  2. §10.4.1μηδὲ σεαυτόν — The preceding infinitive αἰτιᾶσθαι is omitted after the negative particle μηδέ, meaning 'do not even blame yourself.'

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §10.4.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.4.1

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