Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §9.12.1

Laboring without Pity or Praise under Civic Reason

Passage 344 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author exhorts himself to labor without seeking pity or admiration, and to desire only to act and to restrain himself in accordance with civic reason.

§9.12.1Πόνει μὴ ὡς ἄθλιος μηδὲ ὡς ἐλεεῖσθαι ἢ θαυμάζεσθαι θέλων, ἀλλὰ μόνον ἓν θέλε· κινεῖσθαι καὶ ἴσχεσθαι, ὡς ὁ πολιτικὸς λόγος ἀξιοῖ.
Labor not as one who is wretched, nor as one who wishes to be pitied or admired; but desire one thing only: to act and to restrain yourself, as civic reason demands.

Notes

  1. §9.12.1κινεῖσθαι καὶ ἴσχεσθαι — Infinitives functioning in apposition to the preceding pronoun ἓν ("one thing"), specifying its content as "to be moved and to be checked" (to act and to refrain from action).
  2. §9.12.1πολιτικὸς λόγος — Refers to "civic reason" or "social reason." In Stoic philosophy, it represents the rational principle of the community, aligned with the cosmic Logos, which human beings as social animals (πολιτικόν ζῷον) are expected to follow.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §9.12.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.12.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.