Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §2.2.1

The Three Elements of the Self and the Ruling Center

Passage 19 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author lists the three elements that compose the self—flesh, breath, and the ruling center—pointing out the baseness of the first two, and urges himself, as an old man, not to let the ruling center be enslaved by unsocial impulses or fate.

§2.2.1Ὅ τί ποτε τοῦτό εἰμι, σαρκία ἐστὶ καὶ πνευμάτιον καὶ τὸ ἡγεμονικόν.
Whatever this is that I am, it is flesh, a little breath, and the ruling center.
τῶν μὲν σαρκίων καταφρόνησον· λύθρος καὶ ὀστάρια καὶ κροκύφαντος, ἐκ νεύρων, φλεβίων, ἀρτηριῶν πλεγμάτιον.
Despise the flesh: blood and bones and a network, a web woven of nerves, veins, and arteries.
θέασαι δὲ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα ὁποῖόν τί ἐστιν· ἄνεμος, οὐδὲ ἀεὶ τὸ αὐτό, ἀλλὰ πάσης ὥρας ἐξεμούμενον καὶ πάλιν ῥοφούμενον.
Look also at the breath, what kind of thing it is: wind, and not always the same, but every hour spit out and again sucked in.
τρίτον οὖν ἐστι τὸ ἡγεμονικόν.
Third then is the ruling center.
ὧδε ἐπινοήθητι· γέρων εἶ· μηκέτι τοῦτο ἐάσῃς δουλεῦσαι, μηκέτι καθ’ ὁρμὴν ἀκοινώνητον νευροσπαστηθῆναι, μηκέτι τὸ εἱμαρμένον ἢ παρὸν δυσχερᾶναι ἢ μέλλον ὑπιδέσθαι.
Reflect thus: you are an old man; no longer allow this to be a slave, no longer to be pulled like a puppet by unsocial impulse, no longer to be dissatisfied with your present lot or to look with suspicion upon the future.

Notes

  1. §2.2.1Ὅ τί ποτε τοῦτό εἰμι — An indefinite relative clause consisting of the relative pronoun ὅτι (neuter singular of ὅστις) with the particle ποτε, functioning as a subject clause meaning 'whatever this is that I am', reflecting a detached and analytical view of one's own existence.
  2. §2.2.1μηκέτι τοῦτο ἐάσῃς δουλεῦσαι — The verb ἐάσῃς (second-person singular aorist active subjunctive of ἐάω, expressing prohibition with μηκέτι) governs an accusative with infinitive construction, with the accusative τοῦτο (referring to the ruling center) as the subject. The subsequent infinitives νευροσπαστηθῆναι, δυσχερᾶναι, and ὑπιδέσθαι are also governed by this ἐάσῃς, sharing τοῦτο as their implied subject.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §2.2.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.2.1

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