Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §4.20.1

The Self-Sufficiency of Beauty and Irrelevance of Praise

Passage 70 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author demonstrates that whatever is beautiful is self-contained and unaffected by praise or blame, illustrating this with examples of natural and artificial objects.

§4.20.1Πᾶν τὸ καὶ ὁπωσοῦν καλὸν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ καλόν ἐστι καὶ ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸ καταλήγει, οὐκ ἔχον μέρος ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ἔπαινον·
Everything that is beautiful in any way whatever is beautiful of itself and terminates in itself, not having praise as a part of itself.
οὔτε γοῦν χεῖρον ἣ κρεῖττον γίνεται τὸ ἐπαινούμενον.
For at any rate, that which is praised becomes neither worse nor better.
τοῦτό φημι καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κοινότερον καλῶν λεγομένων, οἷον ἐπὶ τῶν ὑλικῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τεχνικῶν κατασκευασμάτων (τὸ γὰρ δὴ ὄντως καλὸν τίνος χρείαν ἔχει;
I say this also of things which are more commonly called beautiful, such as material things and works of art (for what does that which is really beautiful need?
οὐ μᾶλλον ἣ νόμος, οὐ μᾶλλον ἣ ἀλήθεια, οὐ μᾶλλον ἢ εὔνοια ἢ αἰδώς)·
No more than law, no more than truth, no more than benevolence or modesty).
τί τούτων διὰ τὸ ἐπαινεῖσθαι καλόν ἐστιν ἢ ψεγόμενον φθείρεται;
Which of these is beautiful because it is praised, or is destroyed because it is blamed?
σμαράγδιον γὰρ ἑαυτοῦ χεῖρον γίνεται, ἐὰν μὴ ἐπαινῆται;
Does an emerald become worse than it was, if it is not praised?
τί δὲ χρυσός, ἐλέφας, πορφύρα, λύρα, μαχαίριον, ἀνθύλλιον, δενδρύφιον;
And what of gold, ivory, purple, a lyre, a dagger, a floweret, a shrub?

Notes

  1. §4.20.1ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸ καταλήγει — The combination of the preposition ἐπί with the accusative indicating direction and the verb καταλήγω (to end, terminate) expresses that the essence of beauty does not seek external evaluation, but is self-contained and self-sufficient.
  2. §4.20.1οὐ μᾶλλον ἤ — An idiomatic negative expression using the comparative, meaning "no more than" or "just as little as." It emphasizes that a truly beautiful thing needs nothing, just as objective norms (law, truth) or internal virtues (benevolence, modesty) need nothing.
  3. §4.20.1ἑαυτοῦ — A genitive of comparison dependent on the comparative χεῖρον (worse). It indicates that an emerald does not degrade "below its own intrinsic nature" whether it is praised or not.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §4.20.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.20.1

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