Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §2.13.1

Futility of Inquiring into Others and Care of Inner Daemon

Passage 30 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author highlights the futility of inquiring into others' souls and emphasizes the necessity of attending solely to the daemon within oneself and keeping it pure from passions and discontent.

§2.13.1Οὐδὲν ἀθλιώτερον τοῦ πάντα κύκλῳ ἐκπεριερχομένου καὶ ʽτὰ νέρθεν γᾶς (φησὶν) ἐρευνῶντοςʼ καὶ τὰ ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς τῶν πλησίον διὰ τεκμάρσεως ζητοῦντος, μὴ αἰσθομένου δέ, ὅτι ἀρκεῖ πρὸς μόνῳ τῷ ἔνδον ἑαυτοῦ δαίμονι εἶναι καὶ τοῦτον γνησίως θεραπεύειν.
Nothing is more wretched than he who goes round all things in a circle, and (as the poet says) "inquires into the things under the earth," and searches by conjecture into the things in the souls of his neighbors, but does not perceive that it is sufficient to attend to the daemon within himself alone, and to worship him genuinely.
θεραπεία δὲ αὐτοῦ, καθαρὸν πάθους διατηρεῖν καὶ εἰκαιότητος καὶ δυσαρεστήσεως τῆς πρὸς τὰ ἐκ θεῶν καὶ ἀνθρώπων γινόμενα.
And the worship of him consists in keeping him pure from passion and thoughtlessness, and from discontent with what comes from gods and men.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ θεῶν αἰδέσιμα δι’ ἀρετήν· τὰ δὲ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων φίλα διὰ συγγένειαν, ἔστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ τρόπον τινὰ ἐλεεινὰ δι’ ἄγνοιαν ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν· οὐκ ἐλάττων ἡ πήρωσις αὕτη τῆς στερισκούσης τοῦ διακρίνειν τὰ λευκὰ καὶ μέλανα.
For the things from the gods are to be revered because of their excellence; and those from men are dear because of kinship, but sometimes in a way they are also to be pitied because of their ignorance of good and evil; this blindness is no less than that which deprives one of the power to distinguish between white and black.

Notes

  1. §2.13.1τοῦ ... ἐκπεριερχομένου — This is a genitive of comparison governed by the comparative "οὐδὲν ἀθλιώτερον" (nothing is more wretched). The participles `ἐκπεριερχομένου`, `ἐρευνῶντος`, `ζητοῦντος`, and `αἰσθομένου` all agree with this implied genitive subject, functioning substantively as "one who...".
  2. §2.13.1πρὸς μόνῳ τῷ ἔνδον ἑαυτοῦ δαίμονι εἶναι — The preposition `πρός` with the dative and the verb `εἶναι` expresses the meaning of "to be occupied with" or "to attend to". Here it refers to focusing solely on the divinity (daemon) within oneself.
  3. §2.13.1καθαρὸν πάθους διατηρεῖν — The object of the infinitive `διατηρεῖν` (to keep) is omitted (either "himself" or "the daemon"), and `καθαρὸν` functions as a predicate accusative (to keep [him/oneself] pure). `πάθους` is a genitive of separation dependent on the adjective `καθαρός`.
  4. §2.13.1τῆς στερισκούσης τοῦ διακρίνειν — `τῆς` is the article referring back to the preceding noun `πηρώσις` (blindness/deprivation). `στερισκούσης` is the active participle of `στερίσκω` (to deprive). `τοῦ διακρίνειν` is an articular infinitive in the genitive case, which is required by the verb of depriving (`στερίσκω`) to indicate what is deprived.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §2.13.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.13.1

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