Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §7.15.1

Remaining Good Regardless of Others' Words and Actions

Passage 211 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author asserts that regardless of what others do or say, he must remain good and maintain his own character, just as an emerald or gold retains its inherent quality and color.

§7.15.1Ὅ τι ἄν τις ποιῇ ἢ λέγῃ, ἐμὲ δεῖ ἀγαθὸν εἶναι, ὡς ἂν εἰ ὁ χρυσὸς ἢ ὁ σμάραγδος ἢ ἡ πορφύρα τοῦτο ἀεὶ ἔλεγεν· ὅ τι ἄν τις ποιῇ ἢ λέγῃ, ἐμὲ δεῖ σμάραγδον εἶναι καὶ τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ χρῶμα ἔχειν.
Whatever anyone does or says, I must be good, just as if the gold, or the emerald, or the purple were always saying this: "Whatever anyone does or says, I must be an emerald and keep my own color."

Notes

  1. §7.15.1ὡς ἂν εἰ — An idiomatic expression meaning "as if." Here it is accompanied by the imperfect indicative ἔλεγεν to express a counterfactual comparison.
  2. §7.15.1τοῦτο — This demonstrative pronoun is proleptic, referring forward to the subsequent sentence beginning with ὅ τι ἄν τις ποιῇ..., rather than backward to the preceding clause.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §7.15.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.15.1

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