Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §7.75.1

Remembering Universal Providence to Gain Serenity

Passage 271 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author urges the reader to find peace of mind by remembering that either everything is a necessary consequence of the universe's creation, or else even the most important things would be devoid of reason.

§7.75.1Ἡ τοῦ ὅλου φύσις ἐπὶ τὴν κοσμοποιίαν ὥρμησε·
The nature of the whole felt an impulse to the creation of the world.
νῦν δὲ ἤτοι πᾶν τὸ γινόμενον κατ’ ἐπακολούθησιν γίνεται ἢ ἀλόγιστα καὶ τὰ κυριώτατά ἐστιν ἐφ’ ἃ ποιεῖται ἰδίαν ὁρμὴν τὸ τοῦ κόσμου ἡγεμονικόν.
But now, either everything that happens happens by way of consequence, or even the most important things, towards which the ruling principle of the universe directs its own impulse, are devoid of reason.
εἰς πολλά σε γαληνότερον ποιήσει τοῦτο μνημονευόμενον.
Remembering this will make you calmer in many things.

Notes

  1. 7.75.1ἀλόγιστα — ἀλόγιστα (devoid of reason) is the predicate adjective in the clause introduced by the conjunction ἤ, modifying the subject τὰ κυριώτατά (the most important things). Here καί is emphatic, meaning 'even'. The relative clause ἐφ’ ἃ... modifies τὰ κυριώτατά.
  2. 7.75.1τοῦτο μνημονευόμενον — The combination of the demonstrative pronoun τοῦτο and the passive participle μνημονευόμενον (being remembered) functions as the subject of the main verb ποιήσει, expressing the action itself ('the remembering of this', similar to the ab urbe condita construction).

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §7.75.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.75.1

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