Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §8.59.1

Humans Made for Each Other: Teaching or Bearing with Them

Passage 330 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Based on the premise that human beings exist for one another, it urges us either to teach them or to bear with them.

§8.59.1Οἱ ἄνθρωποι γεγόνασιν ἀλλήλων ἕνεκεν· ἢ δίδασκε οὖν ἢ φέρε.
Human beings have been made for one another; therefore, either teach them or bear with them.

Notes

  1. 8.59.1γεγόνασιν — Third-person plural perfect active of γίγνομαι. Rather than just a past event of "coming into being," it expresses a present state or essential purpose: "have been made for" or "exist for" one another.
  2. 8.59.1φέρε — Second-person singular present imperative active of φέρω (to bear, carry). Here it is used in the sense of "to endure" or "to bear with" (others), with the object being implied from the context.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §8.59.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.59.1

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