Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §9.30.1

Observing Human Life from Above and the Emptiness of Fame

Passage 362 of 486 · Greek

Summary

Contemplate the diversity and transience of human life from a cosmic perspective, reflecting on those who lived in the past, those who will live in the future, and contemporaries, to realize the worthlessness of fame and remembrance.

§9.30.1Ἄνωθεν ἐπιθεωρεῖν ἀγέλας μυρίας καὶ τελετὰς μυρίας καὶ πλοῦν παντοῖον ἐν χειμῶσι καὶ γαλήναις καὶ διαφορὰς γινομένων, συγγινομένων, ἀπογινομένων.
Look down from above upon the countless herds, the countless rites, and every kind of voyage in storms and calms, and the changes of those who are coming into being, associating, and passing away.
ἐπινόει δὲ καὶ τὸν ὑπ’ ἄλλων πάλαι βεβιωμένον βίον καὶ τὸν μετὰ σὲ βιωθησόμενον καὶ τὸν νῦν ἐν τοῖς βαρβάροις ἔθνεσι βιούμενον· καὶ ὅσοι μὲν οὐδὲ ὄνομά σου γινώσκουσιν, ὅσοι δὲ τάχιστα ἐπιλήσονται, ὅσοι δ’ ἐπαινοῦντες ἴσως νῦν σε τάχιστα ψέξουσι· καὶ ὡς οὔτε ἡ μνήμη ἀξιόλογόν γε οὔτε ἡ δόξα οὔτε ἄλλο τι τὸ σύμπαν.
Reflect also on the life lived of old by others, and the life that will be lived after you, and the life now being lived among the barbarian nations; and how many do not even know your name, and how many will very quickly forget it, and how many who are perhaps now praising you will very quickly blame you; and how neither remembrance nor glory nor anything else at all is of any value.

Notes

  1. §9.30.1Ἄνωθεν ἐπιθεωρεῖν — An independent infinitive used with the force of an imperative (imperative infinitive), a characteristic stylistic device in Marcus Aurelius' self-exhortations.
  2. §9.30.1γινομένων, συγγινομένων, ἀπογινομένων — Genitive plurals of the present middle/passive participles of γίνομαι, συγγίνομαι, and ἀπογίνομαι. They represent those who are coming into being, those associating together, and those departing (dying), highlighting the transience of human existence and relations.
  3. §9.30.1ὡς οὔτε ἡ μνήμη ἀξιόλογόν γε — The particle ὡς introduces an indirect exclamation ('how...'). The adjective ἀξιόλογον is neuter singular, despite the feminine subjects μνήμη and δόξα, which is a common construct when a predicate describes several items abstractly as 'a thing of value'.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §9.30.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.30.1

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