Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §4.29.1

Those Who Reject Cosmic Order and Civic Reason

Passage 79 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author compares those who are ignorant of the universe and its events, or who reject civic reason, to strangers, blind men, or fragments torn from the state, emphasizing the necessity of accepting the common nature.

§4.29.1Εἰ ξένος κόσμου ὁ μὴ γνωρίζων τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ ὄντα, οὐχ ἧττον ξένος καὶ ὁ μὴ γνωρίζων τὰ γινόμενα.
If he who does not know what is in the universe is a stranger to the universe, no less a stranger is he who does not know what is happening.
φυγὰς ὁ φεύγων τὸν πολιτικὸν λόγον·
He who flees from the civic reason is an exile.
τυφλὸς ὁ καταμύων τῷ νοερῷ ὄμματι·
He who shuts the eyes of his understanding is blind.
πτωχὸς ὁ ἐνδεὴς ἑτέρου καὶ μὴ πάντα ἔχων παρ’ ἑαυτοῦ τὰ εἰς τὸν βίον χρήσιμα·
He who stands in need of another and does not possess within himself all things useful for life is a pauper.
ἀπόστημα κόσμου ὁ ἀφιστάμενος καὶ χωρίζων ἑαυτὸν τοῦ τῆς κοινῆς φύσεως λόγου διὰ τοῦ δυσαρεστεῖν τοῖς συμβαίνουσιν· ἐκείνη γὰρ φέρει τοῦτο, ἣ καὶ σὲ ἤνεγκεν·
He who rebels and separates himself from the reason of our common nature through dissatisfaction with what happens is an abscess on the universe; for she who brought this to pass is the same nature that also brought you into being.
ἀπόσχισμα πόλεως ὁ τὴν ἰδίαν ψυχὴν τῆς τῶν λογικῶν ἀποσχίζων, μιᾶς οὔσης.
He who cuts off his own soul from the soul of all rational beings, which is one, is a fragment torn from the state.

Notes

  1. §4.29.1ξένος κόσμου — The genitive κόσμου depends on the adjective ξένος, expressing the relation of being "a stranger to the universe."
  2. §4.29.1διὰ τοῦ δυσαρεστεῖν — The preposition διὰ followed by the articular infinitive in the genitive τοῦ δυσαρεστεῖν expresses the means: "through being dissatisfied" or "by grumbling."
  3. §4.29.1μιᾶς οὔσης — A genitive absolute construction with the implied feminine subject ψυχῆς (the soul of rational beings, implied by τῆς τῶν λογικῶν), carrying a concessive force: "even though it is one."

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §4.29.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.29.1

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