Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §9.13.1

Difficulties Lie Not Outside but in One's Judgments

Passage 345 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author states that he escaped from all difficult circumstances, or rather cast them out, because they do not exist outside but within his own judgements.

§9.13.1Σήμερον ἐξῆλθον πάσης περιστάσεως, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐξέβαλον πᾶσαν περίστασιν· ἔξω γὰρ οὐκ ἦν, ἀλλὰ ἔνδον ἐν ταῖς ὑπολήψεσιν.
Today I escaped from every difficult circumstance, or rather I cast out every difficult circumstance; for it was not outside, but within, in my judgements.

Notes

  1. §9.13.1οὐκ ἦν — The subject of the third-person singular imperfect verb ἦν is understood from the context to be περίστασις (circumstance) from the preceding clause. This expresses the core Stoic epistemological view that difficulties do not exist as objective external events, but are generated by one's internal judgements (ὑπόληψις).

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §9.13.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.13.1

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