Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §8.9.1

Refraining from Complaints About Life at Court

Passage 280 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author admonishes himself not to let anyone hear him complaining about court life, nor to listen to such complaints within himself.

§8.9.1Μηκέτι σου μηδεὶς ἀκούσῃ καταμεμφομένου τὸν ἐν αὐλῇ βίον μηδὲ σὺ σεαυτοῦ.
Let no one hear you complaining of the life in the court anymore, nor should you yourself hear yourself.

Notes

  1. §8.9.1ἀκούσῃ — Third-person singular aorist active subjunctive, used with the negative elements `μηκέτι μηδείς` to form a prohibition or hortatory command in the third person.
  2. §8.9.1σου καταμεμφομένου — A genitive-and-participle construction dependent on the verb of perception `ἀκούσῃ` (literally, 'hear you complaining'). The participle `καταμεμφομένου` governs the accusative object `τὸν ἐν αὐλῇ βίον`.
  3. §8.9.1μηδὲ σὺ σεαυτοῦ — An elliptical construction in which the second-person singular verb `ἀκούσῃς` and the participle `καταμεμφομένου` are understood from the preceding clause: 'nor [should] you yourself [hear] yourself [complaining]'. `σεαυτοῦ` is the genitive reflexive pronoun serving as the object of the implied verb.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §8.9.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.9.1

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