§9.4.1Ὁ ἁμαρτάνων ἑαυτῷ ἁμαρτάνει· ὁ ἀδικῶν ἑαυτὸν ἀδικεῖ, ἑαυτὸν, ἑαυτὸν κακὸν ποιῶν.
He who does wrong does wrong to himself; he who acts unjustly acts unjustly to himself, making himself, himself evil.
Marcus Aurelius · Meditations §9.4.1
Wrongdoing and Injustice Harming Oneself
Summary
The author points out that doing wrong or acting unjustly to others is ultimately nothing other than harming and making oneself evil.
Notes
- §9.4.1ἑαυτῷ — A dative used with the intransitive verb ἁμαρτάνει (does wrong/sins), functioning as a dative of disadvantage indicating the person affected ("to/against himself").
- §9.4.1ἑαυτὸν, ἑαυτὸν κακὸν ποιῶν — The present participle ποιῶν agrees with the subject of the main clause, ὁ ἀδικῶν, and expresses means ("by making"). The adjective κακὸν functions as an object complement. The repetition of ἑαυτὸν in the manuscript tradition may be for emphasis or a scribal error, but it is retained in the translation.
Cite this passage
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations §9.4.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.4.1
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