Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §9.22.1

Attending to the Ruling Centers of Self, Cosmos, and Others

Passage 354 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Marcus urges focusing on three ruling centers—one's own, the universe's, and the neighbor's—to cultivate internal justice, remember one's place in the whole, and recognize the shared kinship in others' rational nature.

§9.22.1Τρέχε ἐπὶ τὸ σεαυτοῦ ἡγεμονικὸν καὶ τὸ τοῦ ὅλου καὶ τὸ τούτου.
Hasten to your own ruling center, and to that of the whole, and to that of this person.
τὸ μὲν σεαυτοῦ, ἵνα νοῦν δικαικὸν αὐτὸ ποιήσῃς· τὸ δὲ τοῦ ὅλου, ἵνα συμμνημονεύσῃς τίνος μέρος εἶ· τὸ δὲ τούτου, ἵνα ἐπιστήσῃς πότερον ἄγνοια ἢ γνώμη, καὶ ἅμα λογίσῃ ὅτι συγγενές.
Your own, indeed, in order that you may make it a mind characterized by justice; that of the whole, in order that you may remember of what you are a part; and that of this person, in order that you may understand whether it is ignorance or deliberate purpose, and at the same time consider that it is akin.

Notes

  1. §9.22.1τούτου — Genitive singular of the demonstrative pronoun. In this context, it stands elliptically for "of this person," referring to the ruling center (ἡγεμονικόν) of the neighbor or other person one is dealing with, parallel to "your own" and "that of the whole."
  2. §9.22.1πότερον ἄγνοια ἢ γνώμη — Introduces an indirect question with `πότερον... ἤ...` ("whether... or..."), with the copula (such as `ἐστίν`) omitted. It functions as the object of the subjunctive verb `ἐπιστήσῃς` ("you may direct your attention to / understand"), asking whether the other's action is due to ignorance or deliberate judgment.
  3. §9.22.1ὅτι συγγενές — A declarative clause introduced by `ὅτι` ("that"), serving as the object of the verb `λογίσῃ` ("you may consider / reckon"). The copula is omitted after the adjective `συγγενές` ("akin / related"). It points out that the other person's ruling center (or the person themselves) shares a rational nature akin to your own.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §9.22.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.22.1

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