Humanitext Reader

Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §9.35.1

Loss as Change and Trust in Universal Nature

Passage 367 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author explains that loss is merely change and that everything happens well according to the nature of the universe, refuting the pessimistic view that the world is condemned to constant evils.

§9.35.1Ἡ ἀποβολὴ οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἐστὶν ἢ μεταβολή.
Loss is nothing else than change.
τούτῳ δὲ χαίρει ἡ τῶν ὅλων φύσις, καθ’ ἢν πάντα καλῶς γίνεται καὶ ἐξ αἰῶνος ὁμοειδῶς ἐγίνετο καὶ εἰς ἄπειρον τοιαῦθ̓ ἕτερα ἔσται.
And in this the nature of the universe delights, according to which all things happen well, and from eternity have happened in like fashion, and to infinity other such things will be.
τί οὖν λέγεις ὅτι ἐγίνετό τε πάντα κακῶς καὶ πάντα ἀεὶ κακῶς ἔσται καὶ οὐδεμία ἄρα δύναμις ἐν τοσούτοις θεοῖς ἐξευρέθη ποτὲ ἡ διορθώσουσα ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ κατακέκριται ὁ κόσμος ἐν ἀδιαλείπτοις κακοῖς συνέχεσθαι;
Why then do you say that all things have happened badly, and all things will always be badly, and that no power indeed among so many gods has ever been found to correct these things, but the world is condemned to be held in uninterrupted evils?

Notes

  1. 9.35.1καθ’ ἢν — The antecedent is the preceding phrase `ἡ τῶν ὅλων φύσις` (the nature of the universe). The preposition `κατά` with the accusative means 'according to', indicating that all things happen in conformity with the law of the universe's nature.
  2. 9.35.1ἡ διορθώσουσα — A future active participle in the feminine nominative singular, modifying the preceding noun `δύναμις`. The future participle with the article is used attributively to express purpose, capability, or destiny ('a power that is to correct' or 'capable of correcting').
  3. 9.35.1κατακέκριται ... συνέχεσθαι — The perfect passive indicative third-person singular `κατακέκριται` (from `κατακρίνω`, 'to condemn') takes the present passive infinitive `συνέχεσθαι` (from `συνέχω`, 'to hold together' or 'to confine'). With the subject `ὁ κόσμος`, it expresses that the world is condemned to be held or confined in evils.

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §9.35.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.35.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.