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Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §9.36.1

The Baseness of Matter and Constant Transformation

Passage 368 of 486 · Greek

Summary

The author reflects on the rottenness and baseness of the matter underlying all things, pointing out that even marble, gold, clothing, and the breath of life are nothing but insignificant and changing physical substances.

§9.36.1Τὸ σαπρὸν τῆς ἑκάστῳ ὑποκειμένης ὕλης· ὕδωρ, κόνις, ὀστάρια, γράσος, ἢ πάλιν·
The rottenness of the matter which underlies each thing: water, dust, bones, filth.
πῶροι γῆς τὰ μάρμαρα καὶ ὑποστάθμαι ὁ χρυσός, ὁ ἄργυρος, καὶ τριχία ἡ ἐσθὴς καὶ αἷμα ἡ πορφύρα, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα τοιαῦτα.
Or again: marbles are callosities of the earth, and gold and silver are dregs, and garments are little hairs, and purple dye is blood, and all other things are such.
καὶ τὸ πνευμάτιον δὲ ἄλλο τοιοῦτον καὶ ἐκ τούτων εἰς ταῦτα μεταβάλλον.
And the breath too is another such thing, changing from these things into these.

Notes

  1. §9.36.1Τὸ σαπρὸν — meaning 'the rottenness' or 'decay'. A substantivized neuter adjective. This nominal phrase at the beginning lacks a main verb, representing an intuitive presentation or exclamation in meditation.
  2. §9.36.1πῶροι γῆς τὰ μάρμαρα — Since τὰ μάρμαρα (marbles, neuter plural) has the definite article, it is the subject, while the anarthrous πῶροι γῆς (callosities of the earth) is the predicate. The subsequent clauses, 'gold and silver are dregs' and 'garments are hairs,' share the same inverted structure where the articulated noun is the subject and the anarthrous one is the predicate.
  3. §9.36.1ἐκ τούτων εἰς ταῦτα — Meaning 'from these things into these.' Both demonstrative pronouns are in the neuter plural (genitive and accusative). This indicates that even the breath, an invisible element, is merely undergoing constant transformation and flux among the base physical elements mentioned above (such as water or dust).

Cite this passage

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §9.36.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.36.1

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