Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §7.37.1

The Shame of the Mind Ordering the Face but Not Itself

Passage 233 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Marcus points out the inconsistency and shamefulness of the mind commanding the body (the face) to be shaped and adorned while failing to shape and adorn itself.

§7.37.1Αἰσχρόν ἐστι τὸ μὲν πρόσωπον ὑπήκοον εἶναι καὶ σχηματίζεσθαι καὶ κατακοσμεῖσθαι, ὡς κελεύει ἡ διάνοια, αὐτὴν δ’ ὑφ’ ἑαυτῆς μὴ σχηματίζεσθαι καὶ κατακοσμεῖσθαι.
It is shameful that, while the face is obedient and is shaped and adorned as the mind commands, the mind itself is not shaped and adorned by itself.

Notes

  1. 7.37.1Αἰσχρόν ἐστι — The main predicate. The subject of `Αἰσχρόν ἐστι` is the entire complex of the two infinitive clauses contrasted by `μὲν` and `δὲ` (`τὸ μὲν πρόσωπον ... εἶναι ...` and `αὐτὴν δ’ ... μὴ σχηματίζεσθαι ...`).
  2. 7.37.1αὐτὴν — Feminine accusative singular intensive pronoun referring to the preceding `ἡ διάνοια` (the mind). It functions as the subject accusative of the infinitives `σχηματίζεσθαι` and `κατακοσμεῖσθαι` in an accusative-with-infinitive construction.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §7.37.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.37.1

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