Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §7.67.1

Attaining Virtue and Self-Mastery Without Great Learning

Passage 263 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author explains that even though nature has combined us with the body, we still retain the freedom to control ourselves and become divine, and that one can achieve happiness and virtue even without academic success.

§7.67.1Ἡ φύσις οὐχ οὕτως συνεκέρασε τῷ συγκρίματι, ὡς μὴ ἐφεῖσθαι περιορίζειν ἑαυτὸν καὶ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ ὑφ’ ἑαυτῷ ποιεῖσθαι· λίαν γὰρ ἐνδέχεται θεῖον ἄνδρα γενέσθαι καὶ ὑπὸ μηδενὸς γνωρισθῆναι.
Nature did not so blend us with the compound mixture that it is not permitted to limit oneself and to keep what is one's own under one's own control; for it is highly possible to become a divine man and yet be recognized by no one.
τούτου μέμνησο ἀεὶ καὶ ἔτι ἐκείνου, ὅτι ἐν ὀλιγίστοις κεῖται τὸ εὐδαιμόνως βιῶσαι καὶ μή, ὅτι ἀπήλπισας διαλεκτικὸς καὶ φυσικὸς ἔσεσθαι, διὰ τοῦτο ἀπογνῷς καὶ ἐλεύθερος καὶ αἰδήμων καὶ κοινωνικὸς καὶ εὐπειθὴς θεῷ.
Remember this always, and also that other thing, that living happily rests upon the very fewest things; and do not, because you have despaired of becoming a dialectician and a natural philosopher, on this account despair of being free, modest, social, and obedient to God.

Notes

  1. §7.67.1ἐφεῖσθαι — ἐφεῖσθαι is the perfect middle-passive infinitive of ἐφίημι, used here impersonally to mean 'to be permitted' or 'to be allowed.' It is introduced by ὡς μή (equivalent to ὥστε μή expressing result) to mean 'not so... as not to be permitted.' The subject of the subsequent infinitives περιορίζειν and ποιεῖσθαι is understood from the context as the self or the soul.
  2. §7.67.1ἀπογνῷς — This is the second-person singular aorist active subjunctive of ἀπογιγνώσκω ('to despair of', 'to give up'), combined with the prohibitive particle μή. The clause structure is interrupted by ὅτι... διὰ τοῦτο ('because... on this account'), yielding the sense 'do not, because of A, on this account despair of B.' The infinitive ἔσεσθαι (to be/become) is understood from the preceding clause to govern the predicate adjectives ἐλεύθερος, αἰδήμων, etc.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §7.67.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.67.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.