Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §7.35.1

The Contemplation of All Existence and Death

Passage 231 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Through a quotation from Plato's Republic, it is argued that for a mind endowed with greatness and the contemplation of all time and existence, human life is not of great importance and death is not to be feared.

§7.35.1ʽἯι οὖν ὑπάρχει διανοίᾳ μεγαλοπρέπεια καὶ θεωρία παντὸς μὲν χρόνου, πάσης δὲ οὐσίας, ἆρα οἴει τούτῳ μέγα τι δοκεῖν εἶναι τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον; ἀδύνατον, ἦ δ’ ὅς.
'Do you think, then, that a mind which possesses greatness of soul and the contemplation of all time and all existence can deem human life to be anything great?' 'Impossible,' he said.
οὐκοῦν καὶ θάνατον οὐ δεινόν τι ἡγήσεται ὁ τοιοῦτος; ἥκιστά γε. ʼ
'Will such a person, then, also regard death as not anything terrible?' 'Least of all.''

Notes

  1. §7.35.1Ἧι οὖν ὑπάρχει διανοίᾳ — The relative pronoun ᾗ attracts and incorporates its antecedent διανοίᾳ within its own clause ("in whatever mind..."). This relative clause is resumed by the demonstrative pronoun τούτῳ ("for this person") in the main clause.
  2. §7.35.1παντὸς μὲν χρόνου, πάσης δὲ οὐσίας — Objective genitive dependent on θεωρία (contemplation, viewing), meaning "the contemplation of all time and all existence."
  3. §7.35.1ἦ δ’ ὅς — A formulaic expression meaning "said he," very common in Platonic dialogues. It indicates that Marcus Aurelius is quoting directly from Plato's Republic (6.486a).

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §7.35.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.35.1

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