Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §6.27.1

Instructing the Mistaken Instead of Anger

Passage 164 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author argues that being angry at others' mistakes is equivalent to preventing them from pursuing what they believe is good for themselves, and that one should instruct them instead of being angry.

§6.27.1Πῶς ὠμόν ἐστι μὴ ἐπιτρέπειν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὁρμᾶν ἐπὶ τὰ φαινόμενα αὐτοῖς οἰκεῖα καὶ συμφέροντα.
How cruel it is not to allow people to strive after what seems to them proper and beneficial!
καίτοι τρόπον τινὰ οὐ συγχωρεῖς αὐτοῖς τοῦτο ποιεῖν, ὅταν ἀγανακτῇς, ὅτι ἁμαρτάνουσι· φέρονται γὰρ πάντως ὡς ἐπὶ οἰκεῖα καὶ συμφέροντα αὐτοῖς. —ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἔχει οὕτως. — οὐκοῦν δίδασκε καὶ δείκνυε μὴ ἀγανακτῶν.
Yet, in a way, you do not allow them to do this when you are angry because they make mistakes; for they are surely drawn towards what they think is proper and beneficial to them. —'But it is not so.'— Then teach them and show them, without being angry.

Notes

  1. §6.27.1τὰ φαινόμενα αὐτοῖς οἰκεῖα καὶ συμφέροντα — The adjectives οἰκεῖα καὶ συμφέροντα ('proper and beneficial') function as predicative complements to the present participle τὰ φαινόμενα ('what seems'). The dative αὐτοῖς is a dative of reference or judgment depending on φαίνομαι ('what appears to them'), meaning as a whole 'what seems to them to be proper and beneficial.'
  2. §6.27.1ὅτι ἁμαρτάνουσι — The conjunction ὅτι introduces a clause expressing the cause or ground of the emotion expressed by the verb ἀγανακτῇς ('you are angry'). It details the reason why the addressee gets upset—namely, because they are making mistakes.
  3. §6.27.1ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἔχει οὕτως — The phrase οὕτως ἔχει is an idiomatic expression meaning 'it is so' (ἔχω + adverb equivalent to εἶναι + adjective). Placed between dashes, this acts as a hypothetical objection from an interlocutor: 'But this is not the case (i.e., their actions are not actually beneficial).'

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §6.27.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.27.1

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