Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §9.16.1

Good and Evil Consisting in Active Operation Not Passivity

Passage 348 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author asserts that for a rational and social animal, good and evil, as well as virtue and vice, lie not in passivity but in active operation.

§9.16.1Οὐκ ἐν πείσει ἀλλ’ ἐνεργείᾳ τὸ τοῦ λογικοῦ καὶ πολιτικοῦ ζῴου κακὸν καὶ ἀγαθόν, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ἡ ἀρετὴ καὶ κακία αὐτοῦ ἐν πείσει ἀλλὰ ἐνεργείᾳ.
The evil and good of the rational and social animal consist not in passivity but in activity, just as its virtue and vice also consist not in passivity but in activity.

Notes

  1. §9.16.1πείσει — This word does not mean 'persuasion' or 'conviction' (derived from πείθω, 'to persuade'), but rather 'passivity', 'passive experience', or 'affection' (derived from πάσχω, 'to experience/suffer'). This interpretation is established by the clear contrast with the subsequent ἐνεργείᾳ ('activity' or 'action').

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §9.16.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.16.1

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