Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §8.19.1

The inherent purpose of all things and rejection of mere pleasure

Passage 290 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author argues that everything has its own purpose, questioning whether a human being's purpose could possibly be mere pleasure.

§8.19.1Ἕκαστον πρός τι γέγονεν, ἵππος, ἄμπελος.
Each thing has come into being for some purpose, a horse, a vine.
τί θαυμάζεις;
Why do you wonder?
καὶ ὁ Ἥλιος ἐρεῖ· πρός τι ἔργου γέγονα, καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ θεοί.
Even the Sun will say, "I have come into being for some work," and the rest of the gods likewise.
σὺ οὖν πρὸς τί;
For what purpose then were you?
τὸ ἥδεσθαι;
To receive pleasure?
ἴδε εἰ ἀνέχεται ἡ ἔννοια.
See if your mind can tolerate this concept.

Notes

  1. 8.19.1πρός τι ἔργου — The genitive ἔργου depends on the neuter accusative pronoun τι (the object of πρός), meaning "for some work" or "for a certain function."
  2. 8.19.1εἰ ἀνέχεται ἡ ἔννοια — The conjunction εἰ introduces an indirect question ("whether"). The verb ἀνέχεται is used here intransitively or in a middle-passive sense meaning "to be tolerated" or "to hold up under scrutiny," referring to whether the concept (ἡ ἔννοια) that humans exist for pleasure can be sustained by reason.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §8.19.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.19.1

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