§6.29.1Αἰσχρόν ἐστιν, ἐν ᾧ βίῳ τὸ σῶμά σοι μὴ ἀπαυδᾷ, ἐν τούτῳ τὴν ψυχὴν προαπαυδᾶν.
It is a shameful thing, in that life in which your body does not yet flag, for the soul to flag first.
Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §6.29.1
The Shame of the Soul Yielding Before the Body
Summary
The author states that it is shameful for the soul to give up in life before the body does.
Notes
- 6.29.1ἐν ᾧ βίῳ ..., ἐν τούτῳ — The antecedent βίῳ is incorporated into the relative clause of ᾧ (attraction) and correlates with the demonstrative ἐν τούτῳ ('in this [life]') in the main clause. The structure emphasizes the continuity: 'in that life in which..., in this very life'.
- 6.29.1προαπαυδᾶν — An infinitive with the prefix προ- ('beforehand', 'first') contrasting with the verb ἀπαυδᾷ ('to flag', 'to give up') in the preceding clause. It takes the accusative τὴν ψυχὴν as its subject, serving as the logical subject of the main predicate αἰσχρόν ἐστιν, emphasizing the shame of the soul giving up 'before' the body.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §6.29.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.29.1
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