Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §5.14.1

Self-Sufficiency of Reason and the Nature of Right Action

Passage 115 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author explains that reason and the art of reasoning are self-sufficient faculties that proceed from their own beginning to their end, which is why such actions are called "right actions."

§5.14.1Ὁ λόγος καὶ ἡ λογικὴ τέχνη δυνάμεις εἰσὶν ἑαυταῖς ἀρκούμεναι καὶ τοῖς καθ’ ἑαυτὰς ἔργοις.
Reason and the art of reasoning are faculties self-sufficient for themselves and for their own proper works.
ὁρμῶνται μὲν οὖν ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκείας ἀρχῆς, ὁδεύουσι δὲ εἰς τὸ προκείμενον τέλος, καθὸ κατορθώσεις αἱ τοιαῦται πράξεις ὀνομάζονται τὴν ὀρθότητα τῆς ὁδοῦ σημαίνουσαι.
They start from their own proper beginning and proceed to the end set before them, wherefore such actions are called "right actions," indicating the rightness of the path.

Notes

  1. §5.14.1ἑαυταῖς ἀρκούμεναι καὶ τοῖς καθ’ ἑαυτὰς ἔργοις — The datives ἑαυταῖς and τοῖς ... ἔργοις both depend on the middle-passive participle ἀρκούμεναι ("being sufficient for", "content with"). The phrase καθ' ἑαυτὰς modifies ἔργοις, meaning "belonging to or according to themselves."
  2. §5.14.1καθὸ — The neuter accusative singular of the relative pronoun with the preposition κατά, used adverbially to mean "wherefore", "insofar as", or "by which". It refers back to the entire preceding clause describing the journey from the proper beginning to the set end.
  3. §5.14.1κατορθώσεις — A nominative predicate of the verb ὀνομάζονται. This is a Stoic ethical term denoting "right actions" (akin to κατορθώματα). Derived from the verb κατορθόω ("to make straight", "to do right"), it is etymologically connected to the word ὀρθός, which resonates with τὴν ὀρθότητα τῆς ὁδοῦ ("the straightness of the path") at the end of the sentence.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §5.14.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.14.1

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