Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §12.19.1

Awareness of the Divine Within and Self-Examination

Passage 469 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author urges the reader to realize that they possess within themselves something more divine than the external impulses that pull them like a puppet, and asks them to examine the current state of their own mind.

§12.19.1Αἴσθου ποτὲ ὅτι κρεῖττόν τι καὶ δαιμονιώτερον ἔχεις ἐν σαυτῷ τῶν τὰ πάθη ποιούντων καὶ καθάπαξ τῶν νευροσπαστούντων σε.

Perceive at last that you have within yourself something better and more divine than those things which produce your passions and, in short, pull you like a puppet.

τί μου νῦν ἐστιν ἡ διάνοια;

What is my mind now?

μὴ φόβος;

Is it fear?

μὴ ὑποψία;

Is it suspicion?

μὴ ἐπιθυμία;

Is it desire?

μὴ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον;

Is it some other such thing?

Notes

12.19.1τῶν τὰ πάθη ποιούντων ... τῶν νευροσπαστούντων — Genitive of comparison depending on the comparatives κρεῖττόν τι καὶ δαιμονιώτερον (something better and more divine). The verb νευροσπαστέω, meaning 'to pull by strings, to control like a puppet', is a crucial philosophical term used here to metaphorically describe being passively driven by external passions and impulses.
12.19.1μὴ φόβος; — A direct question introduced by the negative particle μὴ. It carries a nuance of apprehensive self-interrogation, asking 'Is it not perhaps...?' regarding undesirable states of mind such as fear or suspicion.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §12.19.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:12.19.1

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