Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §6.28.1

Death as Cessation of Sensation and Bodily Servitude

Passage 165 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Death is defined as a cessation of and relief from sensory reactions, the pull of impulses, the wanderings of intellect, and the servitude to the flesh.

§6.28.1Θάνατος ἀνάπαυλα αἰσθητικῆς ἀντιτυπίας καὶ ὁρμητικῆς νευροσπαστίας καὶ διανοητικῆς διεξόδου καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὴν σάρκα λειτουργίας.
Death is a release from the reaction of the senses, from the puppet-pull of impulses, from the discursive wanderings of the mind, and from the service to the flesh.

Notes

  1. 6.28.1ἀνάπαυλα — A nominative noun meaning 'rest' or 'cessation', with the copula verb ἐστί omitted. The four subsequent genitives (ἀντιτυπίας, νευροσπαστίας, διεξόδου, λειτουργίας) function as genitives of separation or cessation (or objective genitives), meaning 'rest from' these activities.
  2. 6.28.1νευροσπαστίας — A noun related to νευρόσπαστον ('puppet pulled by strings'). The author frequently uses the metaphor of puppet-strings to describe how humans are pulled about by external impulses (ὁρμή) rather than guided by reason. Here, death is viewed as liberation from this puppet-like state.
  3. 6.28.1διεξόδου — Literally meaning 'outlet' or 'passage', here it refers to the discursive wanderings of the intellect through various paths of reasoning and inquiry. It implies cessation from the constant mental fatigue that accompanies intellectual searching.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §6.28.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.28.1

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