Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §6.47.1

The Inevitability of Death and Living with Truth and Justice

Passage 184 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author reflects on how all kinds of people throughout history have inevitably died, and emphasizes that the only truly valuable thing in this life is to live with truth, justice, and benevolence toward others.

§6.47.1Ἐννόει συνεχῶς παντοίους ἀνθρώπους καὶ παντοίων μὲν ἐπιτηδευμάτων, παντοδαπῶν δὲ ἐθνῶν τεθνεῶτας, ὥστε κατιέναι τοῦτο μέχρι Φιλιστίωνος καὶ Φοίβου καὶ Ὀριγανίωνος.
Constantly reflect on how men of all kinds, and of all kinds of pursuits, and of all nations, are dead, so that this reaches down even to Philistion, Phoebus, and Origanion.
μέτιθι νῦν ἐπὶ τὰ ἄλλα φῦλα·
Pass on now to the other classes of men.
ἐκεῖ δὴ μεταβαλεῖν ἡμᾶς δεῖ ὅπου τοσοῦτοι μὲν δεινοὶ ῥήτορες, τοσοῦτοι δὲ σεμνοὶ φιλόσοφοι, Ἡράκλειτος, Πυθαγόρας, Σωκράτης, τοσοῦτοι δὲ ἥρωες πρότερον, τοσοῦτοι δὲ ὕστερον στρατηγοί, τύραννοι·
We must indeed remove to that place where there are so many great orators, so many venerable philosophers, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Socrates, so many heroes of former times, and so many generals of later times, and tyrants.
ἐπὶ τούτοις δὲ Εὔδοξος, Ἵππαρχος, Ἀρχιμήδης, ἄλλαι φύσεις ὀξεῖαι, μεγαλόφρονες, φιλόπονοι, πανοῦργοι, αὐθάδεις, αὐτῆς τῆς ἐπικήρου καὶ ἐφημέρου τῶν ἀνθρώπων ζωῆς χλευασταί, οἷον Μένιππος καὶ ὅσοι τοιοῦτοι.
And besides these, Eudoxus, Hipparchus, Archimedes, and other natures, acute, great-souled, laborious, versatile, self-willed, mockers of the perishable and ephemeral life of man itself, such as Menippus and all those like him.
περὶ πάντων τούτων ἐννόει ὅτι πάλαι κεῖνται· τί οὖν τοῦτο δεινὸν αὐτοῖς;
Reflect on all these, that they have long been laid in the grave; what then is this dreadful to them?
τί δαὶ τοῖς μηδ’ ὀνομαζομένοις ὅλως;
What indeed to those who are not even named at all?
ἓν ὧδε πολλοῦ ἄξιον, τὸ μετ’ ἀληθείας καὶ δικαιοσύνης εὐμενῆ τοῖς ψεύσταις καὶ ἀδίκοις διαβιοῦν.
One thing here is of great value, to live out one's life in truth and justice, being well-disposed even to the untruthful and unjust.

Notes

  1. 6.47.1κατιέναι τοῦτο — τοῦτο refers to the concept of "various people dying" (or the process of tracing them in thought). κατιέναι ('to go down') implies descending from historical or noble figures to common or contemporary individuals of lower status, such as Philistion (often identified as a mime writer or performer).
  2. 6.47.1μεταβαλεῖν — Used intransitively to mean 'to shift position,' 'to migrate,' or 'to pass away' as a euphemism for dying. The accusative ἡμᾶς serves as the subject of the infinitive, governed by the impersonal verb δεῖ.
  3. 6.47.1ὧδε — The adverb ὧδε is used here in the sense of 'here' (i.e., 'on earth' or 'in this life') rather than 'thus.' The articular infinitive clause τὸ ... διαβιοῦν functions noun-ally in apposition to ἓν (the one thing).

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §6.47.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.47.1

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