Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §7.44.1

Valuing Justice Above the Risk of Life and Death

Passage 240 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Quoting Plato's Apology, the text argues that a person of worth should not calculate the risk of living or dying, but should only consider whether their actions are just and good.

§7.44.1ʽἘγὼ δὲ τούτῳ δίκαιον ἂν λόγον ἀντείποιμι, ὅτι οὐ καλῶς λέγεις, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, εἰ οἴει δεῖν κίνδυνον ὑπολογίζεσθαι τοῦ ζῆν ἢ τεθνάναι ἄνδρα, ὅτου τι καὶ σμικρὸν ὄφελος, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐκεῖνο μόνον σκοπεῖν, ὅταν πράττῃ, πότερον δίκαια ἢ ἄδικα πράττει καὶ ἀνδρὸς ἀγαθοῦ ἔργα ἢ κακοῦ. ʼ
'But I would reply to this person with a just argument: "You do not speak well, my friend, if you think that a man who is of any utility at all, however small, ought to calculate the risk of living or dying, and not to consider this alone, when he acts, whether he does what is just or unjust, and the deeds of a good man or a bad."'

Notes

  1. §7.44.1τούτῳ — Dative singular, referring to the hypothetical interlocutor in Plato's Apology (28b) who questions Socrates' decision to pursue philosophy at the risk of his life.
  2. §7.44.1ἀλλ’ οὐκ ... σκοπεῖν — An infinitive coordinated with `ὑπολογίζεσθαι` under the conditional clause `οἴει δεῖν` (if you think one must...). It forms a double mental content: `οἴει δεῖν [A]... ἀλλ' οὐκ [οἴει δεῖν] [B]...` (if you think one must do [A], but [you do not think one must] look only to [B]...). Note that the printed `σκοπεῖν` in the text is a typographical error for `σκοπεῖν`.
  3. §7.44.1ὅτου — Genitive singular of the indefinite relative pronoun `ὅστις` (contracted from `οὗτινος`), introducing a relative clause that modifies the antecedent `ἄνδρα`. Together with `ὄφελος` (benefit, use), it functions like a genitive of possession, meaning 'a man of whom there is some use, however small'.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §7.44.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.44.1

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