Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §7.66.1

Socrates' Anecdotes and the True State of the Soul

Passage 262 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author argues that Socrates' outward virtues and famous anecdotes are not enough; what truly matters is the inner state of his soul—whether he was genuinely just to humans, pious to the gods, and unaffected by the body or external fate.

§7.66.1Πόθεν ἴσμεν, εἰ μὴ Τηλαύγης Σωκράτους τὴν διάθεσιν κρείσσων ἦν;
How do we know whether Telauges was not superior in character to Socrates?
οὐ γὰρ ἀρκεῖ, εἰ Σωκράτης ἐνδοξότερον ἀπέθανε καὶ ἐντρεχέστερον τοῖς σοφισταῖς διελέγετο καὶ καρτερικώτερον ἐν τῷ πάγῳ διενυκτέρευε καὶ τὸν Σαλαμίνιον κελευσθεὶς ἄγειν γεννικώτερον ἔδοξεν ἀντιβῆναι καὶ ʽἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἐβρενθύετοʼ, περὶ οὗ καὶ μάλιστ’ ἄν τις ἐπιστήσειεν, εἴπερ ἀληθὲς ἦν·
For it is not enough if Socrates died a more glorious death, and disputed more nimbly with the sophists, and spent the night in the frost with more endurance, and, when ordered to bring the Salaminian, seemed to resist more nobly, and 'strutted in the streets'—about which last point one might particularly hesitate, even if it were true.
ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖνο δεῖ σκοπεῖν, ποίαν τινὰ τὴν ψυχὴν εἶχε Σωκράτης καὶ εἰ ἐδύνατο ἀρκεῖσθαι τῷ δίκαιος εἶναι τὰ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους καὶ ὅσιος τὰ πρὸς θεούς, μήτε εἰκῇ πρὸς τὴν κακίαν ἀγανακτῶν μηδὲ μὴν δουλεύων τινὸς ἀγνοίᾳ, μήτε τῶν ἀπονεμομένων ἐκ τοῦ ὅλου ὡς ξένον τι δεχόμενος ἢ ὡς ἀφόρητον ὑπομένων, μήτε τοῖς τοῦ σαρκιδίου πάθεσιν ἐμπαρέχων συμπαθῆ τὸν νοῦν·
Rather, we must look to this: what kind of soul Socrates had, and whether he was able to be content with being just towards human beings and pious towards the gods, neither being angry at wickedness without cause, nor indeed serving anyone's ignorance, nor receiving any of the allotments from the Whole as something strange, or enduring them as intolerable, nor allowing his mind to sympathize with the passions of the wretched flesh.

Notes

  1. 7.66.1εἰ μὴ — The conjunction `εἰ` introducing an indirect question ("whether") combined with the negative particle `μή`, meaning "whether ... not." Followed by the indicative imperfect `ἦν`, it expresses the question of whether Telauges was not superior.
  2. 7.66.1περὶ οὗ — The antecedent of the relative pronoun `οὗ` refers to the preceding quoted behavior "strutted in the streets" attributed to Socrates (quoted from Aristophanes' *Clouds*, line 362).
  3. 7.66.1τῷ δίκαιος εἶναι — In the articular infinitive in the dative `τῷ εἶναι` ("by being" or "with being"), the predicative adjectives `δίκαιος` (and `ὅσιος`) are in the nominative. This is because the implied subject of the infinitive is identical to the subject of the main clause (Socrates).

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §7.66.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.66.1

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