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Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §8.31.1

The Court of Augustus and Inevitable Extinction of Lines

Passage 302 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Reflecting on the court of Augustus and the Pompeys, the author contemplates the inevitable fate that all families and courts must eventually perish, regardless of how much effort was made to leave successors.

§8.31.1Αὐλὴ Αὐγούστου, γυνή, θυγάτηρ, ἔγγονοι, πρόγονοι, ἀδελφή, Ἀγρίππας, συγγενεῖς, οἰκεῖοι, φίλοι, Ἄρειος, Μαικήνας, ἰατροί, θύται· ὅλης αὐλῆς θάνατος.
The court of Augustus: wife, daughter, grandchildren, stepchildren, sister, Agrippa, kinsmen, household, friends, Areius, Maecenas, physicians, priests—the death of an entire court.
εἶτα ἔπιθι τὰς ἄλλας. . . μὴ καθ’ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου θάνατον, οἷον Πομπηίων.
Then pass on to other [courts]... not to the death of a single person, but as of the Pompeys.
κἀκεῖνο δὲ τὸ ἐπιγραφόμενον τοῖς μνήμασιν· ἔσχατος τοῦ ἰδίου γένους, ἐπιλογίζεσθαι πόσα ἐσπάσθησαν οἱ πρὸ αὐτῶν, ἵνα διάδοχόν τινα καταλίπωσιν, εἶτα ἀνάγκη ἔσχατόν τινα γενέσθαι· πάλιν ὧδε ὅλου γένους θάνατον.
And that too which is inscribed on tombs: 'The last of his house'; and reflect how much those before them strove that they might leave some successor, and then it is inevitable that there must be a last one; here again, the death of a whole house.

Notes

  1. §8.31.1πρόγονοι — Although usually meaning 'ancestors', here in the context of Augustus' family (such as Tiberius and Drusus, the sons of Livia), it is used in the sense of 'stepchildren' or 'stepsons'.
  2. §8.31.1τὰς ἄλλας — Feminine accusative plural adjective, where a feminine noun such as `Αὐλάς` (courts) or `γενεάς` (houses/families) is understood from the context. It means 'pass on to other [courts or families]'.
  3. §8.31.1ἐσπάσθησαν — Aorist passive of `σπάω` (to draw, tear), here used metaphorically to mean 'to be distracted with care' or 'to strive anxiously', referring to how much their ancestors exerted themselves or suffered anxiety to leave a successor.
  4. §8.31.1κἀκεῖνο δὲ τὸ ἐπιγραφόμενον — This accusative phrase functions syntactically as the direct object of the subsequent imperative infinitive `ἐπιλογίζεσθαι` (reflect upon), meaning 'reflect also upon that which is inscribed...'

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §8.31.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.31.1

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