Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §9.21.1

Transitions in Life and Why Death Is Not to Be Feared

Passage 353 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author likens the cessation of activity and the transitions of life stages to "death," arguing that they are not terrible by reflecting on his own upbringing, and concludes that the end of one's whole life is likewise nothing to fear.

§9.21.1Ἐνεργείας ἀπόληξις, ὁρμῆς, ὑπολήψεως παῦλα καὶ οἷον θάνατος· οὐδὲν κακόν.
The cessation of activity, the pause of impulse and opinion, and a kind of death: this is nothing evil.
μέτιθι νῦν ἐπὶ ἡλικίαν, οἷον τὴν παιδικήν, τὴν τοῦ μειρακίου, τὴν νεότητα, τὸ γῆρας· καὶ γὰρ τούτων πᾶσα μεταβολή, θάνατος·
Pass on now to the stages of life, for example, childhood, youth, young manhood, old age; for every change of these is also a death.
μήτι δεινόν;
Is it anything terrible?
μέτιθι νῦν ἐπὶ βίον τὸν ὑπὸ τῷ πάππῳ, εἶτα τὸν ὑπὸ τῇ μητρί, εἶτα τὸν ὑπὸ τῷ πατρί, καὶ ἄλλας δὲ πολλὰς διαφθορὰς καὶ μεταβολὰς καὶ ἀπολήξεις εὑρίσκων ἐπερώτα σεαυτόν· μήτι δεινόν;
Pass on now to the life under your grandfather, then to that under your mother, then to that under your father; and finding many other destructions and changes and cessations, ask yourself: Is it anything terrible?
οὕτως τοίνυν οὐδὲ ἡ τοῦ ὅλου σου βίου λῆξις καὶ παῦλα καὶ μεταβολή.
So likewise, then, neither is the cessation and pause and change of your whole life.

Notes

  1. §9.21.1ὁρμῆς, ὑπολήψεως παῦλα — The genitives ὁρμῆς and ὑπολήψεως function as objective genitives modifying the noun παῦλα ("pause of impulse and opinion").
  2. §9.21.1μέτιθι — The second-person singular present active imperative of the compound verb μέτειμι ("pass on", "proceed to"), directing the reader to move their focus or thoughts to the next stage.
  3. §9.21.1οὐδὲ ἡ τοῦ ὅλου σου βίου — The predicate (specifically δεινόν ἐστιν, "is anything terrible", supplied from the preceding question) is omitted at the end of the sentence, meaning "neither is ... [anything terrible]."

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §9.21.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.21.1

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