Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §4.16.1

Transformation of Esteem by Returning to Reason

Passage 66 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author states that if one returns to philosophical principles and the reverence of reason, one will be regarded as a god within ten days by the very people who now view them as a wild beast or an ape.

§4.16.1Ἐντὸς δέκα ἡμερῶν θεὸς αὐτοῖς τούτοις δόξεις οἷς νῦν θηρίον καὶ πίθηκος, ἐὰν ἀνακάμψῃς ἐπὶ τὰ δόγματα καὶ τὸν σεβασμὸν τοῦ λόγου.
Within ten days you will appear a god to those very same people to whom you now seem a wild beast and an ape, if you return to your principles and the worship of reason.

Notes

  1. §4.16.1δόξεις — Second person singular future active indicative of the verb δοκέω (to seem, appear). Here it means "you will appear (to someone)," taking the dative αὐτοῖς. The subject is the implied second person singular.
  2. §4.16.1οἷς νῦν θηρίον καὶ πίθηκος — In the relative clause introduced by the relative pronoun οἷς (dative plural, referring back to αὐτοῖς τούτοις), a verb such as the present tense δοκεῖς (you seem) or εἶ (you are) is elliptical. The clause is understood as "to whom [you now seem] a wild beast and an ape."
  3. §4.16.1τοῦ λόγου — An objective genitive depending on the noun τὸν σεβασμὸν (reverence/worship), translating to "reverence for the logos (reason/rational principle)."

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §4.16.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.16.1

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