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Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §12.17.1

Avoiding Falsehood and Objectively Analyzing Impressions

Passage 468 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Admonishing against improper or false actions and speech, the author urges analyzing every impression by breaking it down into its cause, matter, relation, and duration.

§12.17.1Εἰ μὴ καθήκει, μὴ πράξῃς· εἰ μὴ ἀληθές ἐστι, μὴ εἴπῃς.
If it is not fitting, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.
ἡ γὰρ ὁρμή σου ἔστω εἰς τὸ πᾶν ἀεὶ ὁρᾶν, τί ἐστιν αὐτὸ ἐκεῖνο τὸ τὴν φαντασίαν σοι ποιοῦν, καὶ ἀναπτύσσειν διαιροῦντα εἰς τὸ αἴτιον, εἰς τὸ ὑλικόν, εἰς τὴν ἀναφοράν, εἰς τὸν χρόνον, ἐντὸς οὗ πεπαῦσθαι αὐτὸ δεήσει.
For let your impulse always be directed to seeing in everything what that very thing is which produces the impression on you, and to analyzing it by dividing it into its cause, its matter, its relation, and the time within which it must cease.

Notes

  1. 12.17.1μὴ πράξῃς — Aorist subjunctive of prohibition. A standard construction for expressing a strong prohibition addressed to the second person.
  2. 12.17.1εἰς τὸ ... ὁρᾶν ... καὶ ἀναπτύσσειν — The articular infinitives (tò ὁρᾶν and ἀναπτύσσειν) introduced by the preposition εἰς indicate the objective or direction toward which the subject (hē hormē sou) with the imperative estō should be directed.
  3. 12.17.1διαιροῦντα — Present active participle in the accusative masculine singular. It agrees with the implied subject of the infinitive anaptyssein (the second person singular 'you'), which functions as an accusative subject of the infinitive.
  4. 12.17.1ἐντὸς οὗ πεπαῦσθαι αὐτὸ δεήσει — οὗ is a relative pronoun referring back to τὸν χρόνον (time). The perfect middle-passive infinitive pepausthai (to have ceased) functions as the subject of the impersonal future verb deēsei (it will be necessary).

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §12.17.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:12.17.1

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