Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §7.7.1

Accepting Help and the Soldier's Duty to Fulfill a Task

Passage 203 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author advises not to be ashamed of accepting help, comparing one's duty to that of a soldier who must complete his task, even if he needs assistance to scale a wall.

§7.7.1Μὴ αἰσχύνου βοηθούμενος·
Do not be ashamed of receiving help.
πρόκειται γάρ σοι ἐνεργεῖν τὸ ἐπιβάλλον ὡς στρατιώτῃ ἐν τειχομαχίᾳ.
For it is your duty to perform what is assigned to you, like a soldier in an assault on a wall.
τί οὖν, ἐὰν σὺ μὲν χωλαίνων ἐπὶ τὴν ἔπαλξιν ἀναβῆναι μόνος μὴ δύνῃ, σὺν ἄλλῳ δὲ δυνατὸν ᾖ τοῦτο;
What then, if you, being lame, are unable to mount the battlement alone, but it is possible for you with another's help?

Notes

  1. §7.7.1βοηθούμενος — Present participle (passive) acting as a complement to the verb αἰσχύνομαι. While αἰσχύνομαι with an infinitive often means "to be ashamed to do" (hence not doing it), with a participle it indicates being ashamed of an actual or ongoing state ("being helped").
  2. §7.7.1ὡς στρατιώτῃ — A dative noun phrase agreeing with the dative pronoun σοι (to you). Accompanied by the comparative conjunction ὡς (as/like), it creates the structure "it is set before you, as a soldier in an assault on a wall, to perform...".

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §7.7.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.7.1

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