Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §2.5.1

Focusing on Duty as if in Life's Last Hour

Passage 22 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author urges living every moment with the dignity and resolve of a Roman and a man, focusing on the task at hand as if it were the last, and notes that the gods require very little for a smooth and pious life.

§2.5.1Πάσης ὥρας φρόντιζε στιβαρῶς ὡς Ῥωμαῖος καὶ ἄρρην τὸ ἐν χερσὶ μετὰ τῆς ἀκριβοῦς καὶ ἀπλάστου σεμνότητος καὶ φιλοστοργίας καὶ ἐλευθερίας καὶ δικαιότητος πράσσειν καὶ σχολὴν σαυτῷ ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἄλλων φαντασιῶν πορίζειν.
Every hour, mind resolutely, as a Roman and a man, to do what is at hand with precise and unfeigned dignity, affection, freedom, and justice, and to secure for yourself leisure from all other imaginations.
ποριεῖς δέ, ἂν ὡς ἐσχάτην τοῦ βίου ἑκάστην πρᾶξιν ἐνεργῇς, ἀπηλλαγμένος πάσης εἰκαιότητος καὶ ἐμπαθοῦς ἀποστροφῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ αἱροῦντος λόγου καὶ ὑποκρίσεως καὶ φιλαυτίας καὶ δυσαρεστήσεως πρὸς τὰ συμμεμοιραμένα.
And you will secure it, if you perform every act as if it were the last of your life, freed from all random conduct, from passionate deviation from the ruling reason, and from hypocrisy, self-love, and discontent with the portion allotted to you.
ὁρᾷς πῶς ὀλίγα ἐστίν, ὧν κρατήσας τις δύναται εὔρουν καὶ θεουδῆ βιῶσαι βίον· καὶ γὰρ οἱ θεοὶ πλέον οὐδὲν ἀπαιτήσουσι παρὰ τοῦ ταῦτα φυλάσσοντος.
You see how few are the things which, if a man wins control over them, he is able to live a life that flows smoothly and fears God; for the gods themselves will demand nothing more from him who observes these things.

Notes

  1. §2.5.1Πάσης ὥρας — A genitive of time ("temporal genitive"), meaning "at every hour" or "moment by moment." Compared to an accusative of duration ("for all time"), this construction emphasizes the need for resolution and concentration at each individual moment.
  2. §2.5.1τοῦ αἱροῦντος λόγου — The active participle αἱροῦντος is used here in the sense of "prevailing," "convincing," or "guiding," referring to the "ruling reason" in the Stoic context. While sometimes translated as "the choosing reason," it highlights the active role of reason in convincing and guiding human impulses.
  3. §2.5.1ὧν κρατήσας τις — The relative pronoun ὧν is in the genitive case as the object governed by the verb κρατέω ("to grasp," "to master"). The nominative participle κρατήσας functions conditionally ("if one masters") or instrumentally ("by mastering") and modifies the main verb δύναται.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §2.5.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.5.1

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