Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §4.49.1-4.49.2

The Metaphor of the Promontory and Steadfastness in Misfortune

Passage 99 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author uses the metaphor of a promontory enduring rough waves to explain the importance of remaining undisturbed by seemingly unfortunate events, arguing that what does not violate human nature cannot be a true misfortune.

§4.49.1Ὅμοιον εἶναι τῇ ἄκρᾳ, ᾗ διηνεκῶς τὰ κύματα προσρήσσεται· ἡ δὲ ἕστηκε καὶ περὶ αὐτὴν κοιμίζεται τὰ φλεγμήναντα τοῦ ὕδατος.
Be like the promontory against which the waves continually break, but it stands firm and the seething water sinks to rest around it.
Ἀτυχὴς ἐγώ, ὅτι τοῦτό μοι συνέβη. οὐμενοῦν ἀλλ̓ εὐτυχὴς ἐγώ, ὅτι τούτου μοι συμβεβηκότος ἄλυπος διατελῶ, οὔτε ὑπὸ παρόντος θραυόμενος οὔτε ἐπιὸν φοβούμενος. συμβῆναι μὲν γὰρ τὸ τοιοῦτο παντὶ ἐδύνατο, ἄλυπος δὲ οὐ πᾶς ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἂν διετέλεσε.
"Unhappy am I, because this has happened to me." Not so, but rather: "Happy am I, because though this has happened to me, I continue free from pain, neither crushed by the present nor fearing the future." For such a thing might have happened to anyone, but not everyone would have continued free from pain on such an occasion.
διὰ τί οὖν ἐκεῖνο μᾶλλον ἀτύχημα ἢ τοῦτο εὐτύχημα;
Why then is that rather a misfortune than this a good fortune?
λέγεις δὲ ὅλως ἀτύχημα ἀνθρώπου, ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀπότευγμα τῆς φύσεως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου;
Do you call that a misfortune for a man at all, which is not a failure of man's nature?
ἀπότευγμα δὲ τῆς φύσεως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἶναι δοκεῖ σοι, ὃ μὴ παρὰ τὸ βούλημα τῆς φύσεως αὐτοῦ ἐστι;
And does that seem to you to be a failure of man's nature which is not contrary to the will of his nature?
τί οὖν;
What then?
§4.49.2τὸ βούλημα μεμάθηκας·
You have learned its will.
μήτι οὖν τὸ συμβεβηκὸς τοῦτο κωλύει σε δίκαιον εἶναι, μεγαλόψυχον, σώφρονα, ἔμφρονα, ἀπρόπτωτον, ἀδιάψευστον, αἰδήμονα, ἐλεύθερον, τἄλλα, ὧν συμπαρόντων ἡ φύσις ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀπέχει τὰ ἴδια;
Does this thing then which has happened prevent you from being just, great-souled, temperate, prudent, free from rashness, free from falsehood, modest, free, and everything else, in the presence of which man's nature finds its own proper fulfillment?
μέμνησο λοιπὸν ἐπὶ παντὸς τοῦ εἰς λύπην σε προαγομένου τούτῳ χρῆσθαι τῷ δόγματι· οὐχ ὅτι τοῦτο ἀτύχημα, ἀλλὰ τὸ φέρειν αὐτὸ γενναίως εὐτύχημα.
Remember too on every occasion which leads you to vexation to apply this principle: not that this is a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune.

Notes

  1. 4.49.1Ὅμοιον εἶναι — The infinitive is used as an imperative (imperative infinitive), expressing an injunction to the reader or the author himself to 'be like...'.
  2. 4.49.1ἡ δὲ ἕστηκε — The article ἡ functions as a demonstrative pronoun ('but it'), referring back to the feminine noun τῇ ἄκρᾳ (the promontory) as the subject.
  3. 4.49.1ἐπιὸν — The neuter singular accusative participle of ἔπειμι (to come upon, follow), here used substantively to mean 'what is to come' or 'the future', serving as the direct object of the participle φοβούμενος.
  4. 4.49.2ὧν συμπαρόντων — A genitive absolute construction with the relative pronoun ὧn (referring back to the enumerated virtues) acting as the subject of the participle συμπαρόντων, meaning 'when these are present together'.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §4.49.1-4.49.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.49.1-4.49.2

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