Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §7.63.1

Involuntary Deprivation of Truth and Gentleness to All

Passage 259 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Recalling Plato's dictum that the soul is deprived of truth and virtue involuntarily, the author emphasizes the importance of remembering this to remain gentle towards everyone.

§7.63.1ʽΠᾶσα ψυχή, φησίν, ἄκουσα στέρεται ἀληθείας· ʼ οὕτως οὖν καὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ σωφροσύνης καὶ εὐμενείας καὶ παντὸς τοῦ τοιούτου.
"Every soul," he says, "is deprived of truth involuntarily." Therefore, the same is true of justice, temperance, benevolence, and everything of the kind.
ἀναγκαιότατον δὲ τὸ διηνεκῶς τούτου μεμνῆσθαι· ἔσῃ γὰρ πρὸς πάντας πρᾳότερος.
And it is most necessary to remember this constantly; for you will be gentler towards everyone.

Notes

  1. §7.63.1φησίν — A third-person singular verb referring to a specific author (Plato, e.g., Sophist 228C) or used quasi-impersonally ("as the saying goes").
  2. §7.63.1δικαιοσύνης — The nouns in this phrase are in the genitive because they depend on the omitted verb στέρεται (to be deprived of) from the preceding sentence.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §7.63.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.63.1

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