Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §6.32.1

The Present Activity under the Control of Mind

Passage 169 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author discusses how humans consist of a body and a mind, noting that only the mind's own activities are in its power, and even then, only its present ones.

§6.32.1Ἐκ σωματίου εἰμὶ καὶ ψυχῆς.
I consist of a little body and a soul.
τῷ μὲν οὖν σωματίῳ πάντα ἀδιάφορα· οὐδὲ γὰρ δύναται διαφέρεσθαι.
To the little body, then, all things are indifferent; for it is not even able to make a distinction.
τῇ δὲ διανοίᾳ ἀδιάφορα ὅσα μή ἐστιν αὐτῆς ἐνεργήματα· ὅσα δέ γε αὐτῆς ἐστιν ἐνεργήματα, ταῦτα πάντα ἐπ’ αὐτῇ ἐστιν.
But to the mind, all things are indifferent which are not its own activities; and indeed, all those that are its own activities are in its own power.
καὶ τούτων μέντοι περὶ μόνον τὸ παρὸν πραγματεύεται· τὰ γὰρ μέλλοντα καὶ παρῳχηκότα ἐνεργήματα αὐτῆς καὶ αὐτὰ ἤδη ἀδιάφορα.
And yet, even of these, it occupies itself only with the present; for its future and past activities, they too are already indifferent.

Notes

  1. 6.32.1διαφέρεσθαι — Although this can be taken as a passive meaning 'to be distinguished', here it is interpreted as a middle voice meaning 'to make a distinction' or 'to care/concern oneself with differences'. This fits the context that the body, lacking rational judgment, cannot actively evaluate or make distinctions between things.
  2. 6.32.1ἐπ’ αὐτῇ — The preposition ἐπί with the dative case here expresses 'in the power of' or 'dependent upon'. With the feminine singular pronoun referring back to the mind (διάνοια), it indicates that all activities of the mind are entirely under its own control.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §6.32.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.32.1

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