Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §12.29.1

The Salvation of Life through Insight and Continuous Good

Passage 479 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The text explains that the salvation of life consists in seeing the essence of things in terms of their material and causal aspects, practicing justice and truth, and enjoying life by continuously connecting one good deed to another.

§12.29.1Σωτηρία βίου ἕκαστον δι’ ὅλου αὐτὸ τί ἐστιν ὁρᾶν, τί μὲν αὐτοῦ τὸ ὑλικόν, τί δὲ τὸ αἰτιῶδες· ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς τὰ δίκαια ποιεῖν καὶ τἀληθῆ λέγειν.
The salvation of life is to see each thing thoroughly, what it is in itself, namely, what is its material part and what is its causal part; to do what is just and to speak the truth with all one's soul.
τί λοιπὸν ἢ ἀπολαύειν τοῦ ζῆν συνάπτοντα ἄλλο ἐπ’ ἄλλῳ ἀγαθόν, ὥστε μηδὲ τὸ βραχύτατον διάστημα ἀπολείπειν;
What else remains than to enjoy life by joining one good deed to another, so as not to leave even the briefest interval between them?

Notes

  1. §12.29.1Σωτηρία βίου — This phrase "the salvation of life" at the beginning functions as the subject nominative with an omitted main verb ἐστί ("is"). The subsequent infinitive phrases "ὁρᾶν" (to see), "ποιεῖν" (to do), and "λέγειν" (to speak) function as predicate nominatives in apposition or explanation.
  2. §12.29.1συνάπτοντα — Active present participle, accusative masculine singular. It agrees in gender, number, and case with the implied accusative subject of the infinitive "ἀπολαύειν" (to enjoy), which refers to an indefinite person or the reader.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §12.29.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:12.29.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.