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Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §11.38.1

Epictetus on the Struggle Between Sanity and Madness

Passage 450 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Quoting Epictetus, the text emphasizes that life's struggle is not over trivial matters, but is a fundamental battle over whether one remains sane or falls into madness.

§11.38.1Οὐ περὶ τοῦ τυχόντος οὖν, ἔφη, ἐστὶν ὁ ἀγών, ἀλλὰ περὶ τοῦ μαίνεσθαι ἢ μή.
"Therefore, the struggle is not about any ordinary matter," he said, "but about whether we are to be mad or not."

Notes

  1. 11.38.1τοῦ τυχόντος — The active aorist participle neuter singular genitive of the verb τυγχάνω (to happen upon) with the article, used idiomatically to mean "any ordinary thing," "trifle," or "something of no importance."
  2. 11.38.1τοῦ μαίνεσθαι ἢ μή — Articular infinitive in the genitive case, serving as the object of the preposition περί. The present infinitive of μαίνομαι (to be mad) literally means "being mad or not," referring to the fundamental choice of whether one retains reason.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §11.38.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:11.38.1

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