§11.14.1Ἀλλήλων καταφρονοῦντες ἀλλήλοις ἀρεσκεύονται καὶ ἀλλήλων ὑπερέχειν θέλοντες ἀλλήλοις ὑποκατακλίνονται.
Despising one another, they try to please one another; and wishing to surpass one another, they bow down to one another.
Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §11.14.1
The Contradiction of Flattering Those One Despises
Summary
The author sharply points out the contradictory psychology of human relations, where people flatter one another while despising each other, and submit to one another while wishing to excel.
Notes
- 11.14.1Ἀλλήλων καταφρονοῦντες... ἀλλήλοις ὑποκατακλίνονται. — Two clauses with a contrastive structure are connected by καί. The first half contrasts the participle with a genitive object, Ἀλλήλων καταφρονοῦντες ('despising one another'), with the verb with a dative object, ἀλλήλοις ἀρεσκεύονται ('they flatter one another'). The second half contrasts the participle with an infinitive taking a genitive object, ἀλλήλων ὑπερέχειν θέλοντες ('wishing to surpass one another'), with the verb with a dative object, ἀλλήλοις ὑποκατακλίνονται ('they bow down to one another'). The word order and case governance (genitive and dative) exhibit perfect symmetry.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §11.14.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:11.14.1
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