Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §12.4.1

Valuing Others' Opinions over One's Own Judgment

Passage 455 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author points out the self-contradictory human tendency to value others' opinions over one's own, illustrating this with a hypothetical scenario where one is commanded to speak all thoughts aloud.

§12.4.1Πολλάκις ἐθαύμασα πῶς ἑαυτὸν μὲν ἕκαστος μᾶλλον πάντων φιλεῖ, τὴν δὲ ἑαυτοῦ περὶ αὑτοῦ ὑπόληψιν ἐν ἐλάττονι λόγῳ τίθεται ἢ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων.

I have often wondered how it is that everyone loves himself more than all others, yet values his own opinion about himself less than that of others.

ἐὰν γοῦν τινα θεὸς ἐπιστὰς ἢ διδάσκαλος ἔμφρων κελεύσῃ μηδὲν καθ’ ἑαυτὸν ἐνθυμεῖσθαι καὶ διανοεῖσθαι ὃ μὴ ἄμα καὶ γεγωνίσκων ἐξοίσει, οὐδὲ πρὸς μίαν ἡμέραν τοῦτο ὑπομενεῖ.

If, for instance, a god standing by or some wise teacher should command someone to conceive or think nothing within himself which he would not at the same time utter aloud, he would not endure it even for a single day.

οὕτως τοὺς πέλας μᾶλλον αἰδούμεθα, τί ποτε περὶ ἡμῶν φρονήσουσιν, ἢ ἑαυτούς.

Thus we respect what our neighbors will think of us more than we respect ourselves.

Notes

12.4.1ἐν ἐλάττονι λόγῳ τίθεται — This is a modification of the idiomatic phrase "ἐν λόγῳ τίθεσθαί τι" (to value or take account of something) with the comparative adjective ἐλάττων, meaning "to hold in lower estimation" or "to value less."
12.4.1τὴν τῶν ἄλλων — The preceding noun ὑπόληψιν (opinion, estimation) is omitted here; the phrase should be understood as "τὴν [ὑπόληψιν] τῶν ἄλλων [περὶ αὑτοῦ]" (the opinion of others [about himself]).
12.4.1ὃ μὴ ἅμα καὶ γεγωνίσκων ἐξοίσει — A relative clause qualifying the antecedent μηδέν. The negative particle μὴ indicates a conditional or qualitative relative clause, which, combined with the future indicative ἐξοίσει, means "which he would not at the same time utter aloud." The participle γεγωνίσκων acts as a participle of manner or attendant circumstance ("uttering aloud").
12.4.1τοὺς πέλας μᾶλλον αἰδούμεθα, τί ποτε περὶ ἡμῶν φρονήσουσιν — A proleptic construction where "the neighbors" (τοὺς πέλας), which logically functions as the subject of the indirect question "τί ποτε..." (what they will think of us), is anticipated as the direct object (accusative) of the main verb αἰδούμεθα. It yields the sense of fearing or respecting our neighbors in terms of what they might think of us.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §12.4.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:12.4.1

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