Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §7.33.1

The Limits of Bodily Pain and the Independence of Reason

Passage 229 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Discusses the attitude toward pain, emphasizing that intolerable pain brings an end to life while lasting pain is bearable, and that the rational mind remains unaffected by bodily suffering.

§7.33.1Περὶ πόνου· τὸ μὲν ἀφόρητον ἐξάγει, τὸ δὲ χρονίζον φορητόν·
On pain: that which is intolerable carries us off, and that which lasts is tolerable.
καὶ ἡ διάνοια τὴν ἑαυτῆς γαλήνην κατὰ ἀπόληψιν διατηρεῖ καὶ οὐ χεῖρον τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν γέγονε, τὰ δὲ κακούμενα μέρη ὑπὸ τοῦ πόνου, εἴ τι δύναται, περὶ αὐτοῦ ἀποφηνάσθω.
And the mind preserves its own serenity by withdrawal, and the ruling center is none the worse. But let the parts which are harmed by the pain, if they can, make their own declaration about it.

Notes

  1. §7.33.1ἐξάγει — Can be interpreted either transitively as 'carries [one] off' (bringing death) or intransitively/reflexively as 'leads [oneself] out' (referring to suicide). In this context, given that extreme pain ends physical life, it is standard to read it as a transitive usage with the object omitted.
  2. §7.33.1κατὰ ἀπόληψιν — Meaning 'by withdrawal' or 'by separation'. While ἀπόληψις can mean 'recovery' or 'reception', in this Stoic context it refers to the psychological action of the ruling center 'cutting off' or 'excluding' physical sensations and pain.
  3. §7.33.1τὰ δὲ κακούμενα μέρη ... ἀποφηνάσθω — The subject is a neuter plural noun `τὰ μέρη` ('the parts'), but the verb `ἀποφηνάσθω` ('let them declare', third-person singular imperative) is in the singular. This reflects the standard Classical Greek grammatical rule (Schema Atticum) where a neuter plural subject takes a singular verb.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §7.33.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.33.1

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