Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §6.8.1

The Ruling Center Shaping Itself and External Events

Passage 145 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author defines the nature of the ruling center (hegemonikon) as that which actively shapes itself and determines how external events appear to it.

§6.8.1Τὸ ἡγεμονικόν ἐστι τὸ ἑαυτὸ ἐγεῖρον καὶ τρέπον καὶ ποιοῦν μὲν ἑαυτὸ οἷον ἂν καὶ θέλῃ, ποιοῦν δὲ ἑαυτῷ φαίνεσθαι πᾶν τὸ συμβαῖνον οἷον αὐτὸ θέλει.
The ruling center is that which rouses and turns itself, and which makes itself such as it may wish to be, while also making every event appear to itself in such a way as it desires.

Notes

  1. §6.8.1ἑαυτῷ — This dative is most naturally understood as a dative of reference or judgment ('to itself') qualifying the subsequent infinitive φαίνεσθαι ('to appear'). While it could theoretically be construed as a dative of advantage with ποιοῦν ('making for itself'), the emphasis of the passage on how the ruling center perceives and interprets external events supports its close connection with φαίνεσθαι.
  2. §6.8.1φαίνεσθαι — This infinitive functions as an object complement to the participle ποιοῦν, forming a causative construction: 'making πᾶν τὸ συμβαῖνον (everything that happens) appear...'

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §6.8.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.8.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.