Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §6.12.1

Returning to Philosophy as Mother amidst Court Duties

Passage 149 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author compares court life to a stepmother and philosophy to a mother, exhorting himself to perform his courtly duties while constantly returning to philosophy as his true home.

§6.12.1Εἰ μητρυιάν τε ἅμα εἶχες καὶ μητέρα, ἐκείνην τ̓ ἂν ἐθεράπευες καὶ ὅμως ἡ ἐπάνοδός σοι πρὸς τὴν μητέρα συνεχὴς ἐγίνετο.
If you had at the same time a stepmother and a mother, you would have paid respect to the former, and yet your return to your mother would have been constant.
τοῦτό σοι νῦν ἐστιν ἡ αὐλὴ καὶ ἡ φιλοσοφία· ὧδε πολλάκις ἐπάνιθι καὶ προσαναπαύου ταύτῃ, δι’ ἣν καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ σοι ἀνεκτὰ φαίνεται καὶ σὺ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀνεκτός.
This now is the court and philosophy to you: return to this often and rest in her, because of whom both the things there seem tolerable to you and you tolerable among them.

Notes

  1. 6.12.1Εἰ ... εἶχες ... ἂν ἐθεράπευες ... ἐγίνετο — A contrary-to-fact conditional sentence referring to the present (εἰ with the imperfect indicative, and ἂν with the imperfect indicative in the apodosis). Although ἂν is not directly attached to the second verb ἐγίνετο, it shares the conditional force of ἂν ἐθεράπευες.
  2. 6.12.1ταύτῃ, δι’ ἣν — The demonstrative pronoun ταύτῃ and the relative pronoun ἣν are both feminine singular, referring to the nearest noun φιλοσοφία (philosophy, metaphorically matching μήτηρ 'mother').
  3. 6.12.1τὰ ἐκεῖ ... ἐν αὐτοῖς — τὰ ἐκεῖ ('the things there') refers to the life and duties at court (αὐλή) as opposed to philosophy. The pronoun αὐτοῖς in ἐν αὐτοῖς ('among them') can be construed as neuter plural referring back to τὰ ἐκεῖ, or as masculine plural referring to the people at court.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §6.12.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.12.1

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