Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §6.46.1

The Monotony and Repetition of Life Likened to Spectacles

Passage 183 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Just as spectacles become wearisome due to their monotony, life as a whole is a repetition of the same things, leading to the question of how long one must endure it.

§6.46.1Ὥσπερ προσίσταταί σοι τὰ ἐν τῷ ἀμφιθεάτρῳ καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις χωρίοις ὡς ἀεὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ὁρώμενα, καὶ τὸ ὁμοειδὲς προσκορῆ τὴν θέαν ποιεῖ, τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ ὅλου τοῦ βίου πάσχειν·
Just as the spectacles in the amphitheater and such places become distasteful to you because they are always the same things being seen, and their uniformity makes the sight wearisome, so you experience this also in regard to life as a whole.
πάντα γὰρ ἄνω κάτω τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν.
For all things, from top to bottom, are the same and from the same.
μέχρι τίνος οὖν;
How long, then?

Notes

  1. §6.46.1προσίσταται — The verb προσίσταμαι (literally "to stand in the way of") is used here with the dative σοι in the figurative sense of "to become distasteful," "to weary," or "to nauseate."
  2. §6.46.1πάσχειν — The infinitive is used independently to function as a main declarative or imperatival verb. Corresponding to the preceding ὥσπερ clause, it expresses a general fact or a precept: "one experiences (or: you must experience) this same thing in regard to life as a whole."
  3. §6.46.1ἄνω κάτω — Literally "up and down," this adverbial phrase here expresses completeness or uniformity in every direction: "from top to bottom," "thoroughly," or "through and through."

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §6.46.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.46.1

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