Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §6.40.1

Respecting the Inward Power of Nature and Its Will

Passage 177 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Contrasting man-made objects with natural things, the author urges respect for the formative power immanent in nature, stating that living in accordance with its will brings harmony to everything, just as it does for the Universe.

§6.40.1Ὄργανον, ἐργαλεῖον, σκεῦος πᾶν εἰ πρὸς ὃ κατεσκεύασται ποιεῖ, εὖ ἔχει·
Every instrument, tool, and vessel, if it does that for which it was made, is well.
καίτοι ἐκεῖ ὁ κατασκευάσας ἐκποδών.
And yet, in that case, the maker is out of the way.
ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ὑπὸ φύσεως συνεχομένων ἔνδον ἐστὶ καὶ παραμένει ἡ κατασκευάσοσα δύναμις·
But in the case of things which are held together by Nature, the power which made them is within and abides.
καθὸ καὶ μᾶλλον αἰδεῖσθαι αὐτὴν δεῖ καὶ νομίζειν, ἐὰν κατὰ τὸ βούλημα ταύτης ἔχῃς καὶ διεξάγῃς, ἔχειν σοι πάντα κατὰ νοῦν.
Therefore you ought to respect this power all the more, and to believe that, if you exist and conduct yourself according to her will, everything is to your mind.
ἔχει δὲ οὕτως καὶ τῷ παντὶ κατὰ νοῦν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ.
And in this way also, the Universe has its own things according to its mind.

Notes

  1. §6.40.1πρὸς ὃ — The relative pronoun ὅ contains its own antecedent (such as the accusative of the demonstrative pronoun ἐκεῖνο), serving as the object of the preposition πρὸς which indicates purpose: "for that purpose for which it was made."
  2. §6.40.1κατασκευάσοσα — A textual variant. Although it appears in the form of a future active participle feminine nominative singular, both symmetry with the aorist participle ὁ κατασκευάσας (referring to the human maker) and semantic coherence suggest that it should be read as the aorist participle feminine nominative singular κατασκευάσασα ("the power which made"), as is standard in modern critical editions.
  3. §6.40.1νομίζειν ... ἔχειν σοι πάντα κατὰ νοῦν — An accusative-with-infinitive (A.C.I.) construction serving as the object of νομίζειν, which is in turn governed by the impersonal verb δεῖ. The subject of the infinitive ἔχειν is the neuter plural πάντα ("all things"), used intransitively to mean "to be in a state." σοι is a dative of interest or reference ("for you"), and κατὰ νοῦν is an adverbial phrase meaning "according to your mind" or "satisfactorily."
  4. §6.40.1τῷ παντὶ κατὰ νοῦν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ — The structure of the sentence is: τὰ ἑαυτοῦ [subject] οὕτως ἔχει [verb] κατὰ νοῦν τῷ παντὶ [dative of reference/interest]. It is interpreted as: "for the Universe (τῷ παντὶ) also, its own things (τὰ ἑαυτοῦ) are in such a state as to be according to its mind." This creates an analogy between the individual human's alignment with nature and the macrocosmic self-harmony of the Universe.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §6.40.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.40.1

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