DeepLang

Commands: imperative, memento, ne with the perfect subjunctive

Direct commands use the imperative (mitte, considera, memento), the passive or deponent imperative in -re (distrahere), and, for "do not", ne with the perfect subjunctive (ne siveris).

  • active: 2nd sg. = the present stem (considera, pelle, mitte, audi; short forms dic, duc, fac, fer); 2nd pl. adds -te (mittite)
  • passive and deponent: 2nd sg. -re, 2nd pl. -mini. The singular looks exactly like a present active infinitive: nec distrahere amplius is "and do not be distracted any longer", not "to distract". Take it as a command when nothing governs an infinitive and the sentence is giving orders. Deponents: sequere "follow!", loquere "speak!"
  • future imperative -to, -tote, "you shall …". memini "I remember" has only this form: memento, mementote "remember!", usually with an infinitive or a clause.

"Do not": ne + perfect subjunctive (ne siveris "do not allow"), or noli, nolite + infinitive (noli timere "do not be afraid"). nec or neque before an imperative means "and do not".

A 2nd-person present subjunctive can also give an order, more gently: contemnas "despise" (see the jussive subjunctive).

Examples

  • Mane praedicere memento tibi 2.1Remember to tell yourself first thing in the morning
  • proinde mitte libros 2.2so put away your books
  • nec distrahere amplius 2.2and do not be distracted any longer
  • partem tui principem servire ulterius ne siveris 2.2do not let the ruling part of you be a slave any longer

In the text 252

  • II.1 Mane praedicere memento tibi, Hodie futurum est, ut rem habeam cum curioso aliquo, ingrato, protervo, doloso, invido, illiberali.memento "remember!" is the imperative of memini, a verb that is perfect in form but present in meaning; it takes an infinitive, here praedicere "to say beforehand".
  • II.2 proinde mitte libros. nec distrahere amplius: (nihil obstat, quo minus hoc facias) sed tanquam qui jam statim moriturus sis, carnes istas contemnas.mitte here means "let go, put away", not "send": "put away your books".
  • II.2 Quin et animam considera, qualis sit. Spiritus est, sive aer, nec is semper idem, sed qui jugiter efflatus denuo resorbetur.
  • II.2 tu ergo sic tecum: senex es: partem tui principem servire ulterius ne siveris; sed nec motibus a communione humana alienis raptari, nec quicquam, quod fato destinatum tibi fuerit, vel jam ascitum aversari, vel futurum pavere.ne with the perfect subjunctive is a prohibition: ne siveris "do not allow". sino takes an accusative and infinitive: partem … servire "the part to be a slave". The later infinitives raptari, aversari and pavere also depend on it.
  • II.3 librorum vero sitim pelle; ut ne murmurans moriaris, sed vere propitius, Deoque ex animo gratus.
  • II.4 Memento, quamdiu ista distuleris, et quoties opportunitates a Diis tibi oblatas neglexeris.Memento 'remember' is the imperative of memini, a verb with perfect forms and present meaning.
  • III.3 quorsum ista? navem conscendisti, navigasti, appulisti: egredere.
  • III.4 Quod superest vitae reliquum, ne conteras in cogitationibus de rebus alienis, nisi siquid ad communem utilitatem spectaverit;ne with the present subjunctive conteras forbids: "do not wear away". Latin forbids with noli and the infinitive, with ne and the perfect subjunctive, or, as here and often in general precepts, with ne and the present subjunctive.
  • III.5 sed nec sensus tuos exornet sermonis elegantia; nec dictionis multae fueris, nec negotii multi avidus.fueris is the perfect subjunctive of esse. With a negative (ne in classical Latin, here nec), the perfect subjunctive makes a prohibition, "do not be", and refers to no past time (compare ne siveris "do not allow"). dictionis multae is a genitive of description: "(a man) of much talk".
  • III.6 si quid, inquam, praestantius hoc adverteris, eo te vertas, eodemque tanquam bono praestantissimo, quo fruaris, toto animo fac incumbas.
  • III.6 at tu simpliciter libereque id quod praestantius est eligito, eique strenue adhaerescito.eligito and adhaerescito are future imperatives, formed with -to. They are the style of laws and standing rules, "you shall choose … you shall cling", and give a lasting precept rather than an order for the moment, like memento "remember". adhaerescere "to stick to" takes the dative, ei.
  • III.9 Facultatem opinatricem venerare.
  • III.14 Ne diutius evageris. neque enim futurum est, ut commentarios tuos perlegas, aut Romanorum ac Graecorum priscorum res gestas, aut ex autoribus variis excerpta, quae, quo in senectute usui tibi essent, reposuisti.A prohibition: ne with the subjunctive, "do not wander any longer". Classical prose would use the perfect subjunctive; Gataker uses the present of the deponent evagor "wander off", which looks passive but is active in meaning.
  • III.14 ad finem itaque festina, et spes vanas mittens, si rationem tui ullam habes, tibi consule; quod licet.festina is the imperative of festino "hurry". ad finem "to the end" is the end of life, and also the goal: the Greek word means both.
  • IV.3 hoc itaque recessu jugiter usus, te renova.
  • IV.3 denique quam multi, ubi inimicitiis exercendis, suspicionibus fovendis, odiis, litigiis, vitam exegissent, tandem defuncti et in cineres redacti sint, desine tandem tibi molestiam facessere.Here at last is the main verb, the imperative desine "stop, cease", which takes an infinitive: "stop making trouble for yourself". facesso is a strengthened facio: molestiam facessere "to cause trouble". Everything from perpendens leads up to it: "weighing all this, stop …".
  • IV.3 reduc tibi in memoriam disjunctivum illud, aut numinis providentia, aut atomorum concursu constant universa: vel ea etiam argumenta, quibus liquido demonstratur, mundum istum civitatis instar obtinere.reduc "bring back" is the imperative of reduco; like duc, dic and fac it has lost its final -e. in memoriam reducere "to bring back into memory" is "to recall".
  • IV.3 at tu considera, mentem tuam ubi semel agnita vi propria, subduxerit sese, spiritui sive leniter sive aspere moto neutiquam immisceri.
  • IV.3 cogita quam cito oblivione sepeliantur omnia, quamque vastum chaos infiniti aevi utrinque consistat:
  • IV.3 proinde, memento tandem in particulam istam secedere:memento "remember", the imperative of memini, takes an infinitive: "remember to withdraw". particulam istam "that little part (of yours)" is your own mind, the small inner place the section began with; secedere picks up in teipsum secedere.
  • IV.3 et cum primis, cave distraharis, cave obnitaris. liber esto potius, resque ipsas intuere, ut vir, ut homo, ut civis, ut animal mortale.cave "take care, beware" is often followed by a plain subjunctive with no ne: cave distraharis "take care you are not pulled apart", i.e. "don't be pulled this way and that". The sense is negative although ne is missing; Cicero writes the same in his letters. obnitaris "strain against" is the present subjunctive of the deponent obnitor. cum primis "among the first" is "above all", as earlier in the section.esto "be" is the future imperative of esse, the usual imperative of this verb in rules of conduct: "be free instead". liber "free" agrees with the "you" addressed.
  • IV.3 sed et perpende tecum, quam multarum rerum mutationibus interfueris ipse.
  • IV.7 Opinionem tolle, tollitur simul et querimonia illa, laesus sum.An imperative can stand in place of an "if" clause: opinionem tolle, tollitur … "take away the opinion, (and) … is taken away", i.e. "if you take away the opinion, … is taken away". English does the same: "Take away the opinion, and the complaint goes."
  • IV.10 Cogita, etiam juste contingere, quicquid contingit,
  • IV.11 Tu ne ea opineris, quae is autumat, qui contumelia te afficit; vel etiam quae ille autumare te vult. verum res ipsas, quomodo vere se habeant, cogites.ne with the present subjunctive makes a prohibition: "do not think". (Classical prose prefers ne with the perfect subjunctive.) opinor is deponent, so opineris is active in meaning. Tu "you" gives emphasis: "you, at least, must not …".
  • IV.17 instat fatum. dum vita suppetit, dum datur, bonus esto.esto is the future imperative of sum: "be", "you shall be". The future imperative is the form of laws and standing rules (compare memento); with bonus "good" it is a whole rule of life in two words.
  • IV.19 finge, vero et immortales, qui tui meminerint, memoriamque tui et ipsam immortalem fore, quid hoc ad te tamen?
  • IV.22 Noli divagari; sed in omni conatu tuo justitiae ratio habeatur, in omni viso intellectus integer servetur.noli, the imperative of nolo "be unwilling", with an infinitive is the usual Latin way to forbid: noli divagari "do not wander about", literally "be unwilling to wander about". divagari is the infinitive of the deponent divagor, passive in form and active in meaning: to drift this way and that without a goal.
  • IV.25 Periculum facito, quomodo procedat tibi vita viri boni.facito is the future imperative of facio: "you shall make". It is the form of laws and standing rules, an order to be kept from now on, not obeyed once. periculum facere is an idiom, "to make a trial, put to the test": periculum has its first meaning here, "trial", not "danger".
  • IV.26 Illa vidisti? et ista vide.
  • IV.26 ne te conturbes.ne with the present subjunctive gives a prohibition, like noli with the infinitive: "do not upset yourself". This form is common in general rules and precepts. In the first and second persons the ordinary pronouns serve as reflexives, so te here is "yourself".
  • IV.31 Quam didicisti artem, eam diligito, eidemque acquiescito.diligito and acquiescito are future imperatives (ending -ito), the form of laws and standing rules: "you shall love … you shall rest", always, not just now. acquiesco takes the dative here, eidem "in the same (art)"; eidem is the dative of idem, and -que joins the two commands.
  • IV.31 quod autem vitae reliquum est, ita exigito, ut qui Diis tua omnia ex toto animo commiseris; nullique homini vel servum vel tyrannum te exhibeas.
  • IV.32 Cogita, verbi gratia, tempora sub Vespasiano acta, eadem prorsus omnia, quae nunc sunt, deprehendes.verbi gratia is literally "for the sake of a word", i.e. "for example" (like English e.g., exempli gratia). gratia, an ablative, follows its genitive. Cogita is a plain present imperative, "think of".An imperative followed by a future does the work of a condition: "think of the times …, (and) you will find", i.e. "if you think of them, you will find". tempora sub Vespasiano acta "the times spent under Vespasian": acta is the perfect participle of ago, which with time means "spend, pass". Vespasian was emperor AD 69–79, about a hundred years before Marcus wrote.
  • IV.32 pari modo tempora alia nota peculiari aliqua designata, vel etiam gentes totas, contemplare;
  • IV.32 simulque considera, quam multi cum in rebus istiusmodi enixe se contendissent, paulo post occiderint, et in elementa sua resoluti sint.
  • IV.36 Hoc jugiter considera, omnia ista quae fiunt, mutatione fieri.
  • IV.36 et assuesce te cogitationi isti, nihil aeque diligere universi naturam, ac ea quae jam existunt mutare, et ex eis sic mutatis nova germina refingere.
  • IV.38 Mentes illorum intuere, et studia etiam, qualia fugiant, qualia prosequantur.
  • IV.40 Cogita jugiter, mundum esse animalis unius instar, quod materiam unam, animamque unam obtineat:
  • IV.48 Crebro apud te reputa, quot medici sint mortui, qui super decumbentes, tanquam conclamatos jam, supercilia contraxerint:
  • IV.48 Percurre itidem quoscunque noveris ipse, qui vice frequenti, alii alios ubi sepelierant, et ipsi tandem elati sunt:
  • IV.49 Promontorii par esto, cui fluctus jugiter cum allidantur, ipsum tamen consistit, undarumque circumfusum sibi aestum compescit.esto "be!" is the future imperative of sum, used in laws and maxims for a standing command. par "equal, like" usually takes the dative; here it has the genitive Promontorii, "be the like of a headland". Marcus pictures the steady mind as a cape that the sea beats on and cannot move.
  • IV.50 ne ergo pro re momenti alicujus habeto.habeto is the future imperative of habeo, and ne with it makes a prohibition: "do not regard". pro re … habere "to hold as a thing"; the object, the short span of life, is understood. momenti alicujus "of any weight" is a genitive of quality describing re: "a thing of any importance".
  • V.3 sed si dictu factuve honestum fuerit, indignum te ne existimes.fuerit is the future perfect, "if it shall be honourable"; English says simply "if it is". ne existimes "do not think" is a prohibition, ne with the subjunctive. Again indignum te is "unworthy of you", with te in the ablative.
  • V.3 quae tu noli attendere, sed recta perge, naturae tum propriae, tum et communi obsecutus.quae at the start of a sentence often links it to the last one: "and these things", their minds and impulses. noli with an infinitive is the usual way to forbid: noli attendere "do not attend to". tu is emphatic: "you, for your part".
  • V.5 haec itaque praesta, quae in te omnino sunt sita, animum sincerum, gravem, laborum tolerantem, voluptatum abstinentem, sorte contentum, paucorum indigum, mitem, liberum, luxu alienum, serium, sublimem.praesta "show, make good" is the imperative of praesto. in te … sita sunt "are placed in you" means "lie in your power": situs is the perfect participle of sino in its old sense "set down, place". haec "these things" is then spelt out by the long list that follows, all describing one animum "mind".
  • V.6 tu autem, si id quod dixeram recte intelligere volueris, noli metuere, ne hac de caussa benefaciendi occasionem ullam sis omissurus.noli + infinitive is the usual prohibition: noli metuere "do not fear". After verbs of fearing, ne means "that" (the thing feared): "do not fear that you will …". sis omissurus, the future participle with the subjunctive of sum, gives a future sense: "that you are going to pass over".
  • V.7 Atheniensium votum erat, Plue, plue, chare Jupiter, super Atheniensium arva et prata.The prayer is quoted directly, with no word for "that". Plue, plue "rain, rain" is the present imperative of pluo "rain", spoken straight to the god. It is the simplest kind of prayer: one plain request, for the fields of all the people, not for the one who prays.
  • V.8 eodemque modo, quicquid evenerit, quamvis asperius visum fuerit, libens admittito, quandoquidem ad mundi integritatem Jovisque prosperitatem atque felicitatem ferat.admittito is a future imperative, ending in -to: "you shall accept". It is the form of laws, rules and doctors' orders, for something to be done whenever the case arises; here it is the patient's rule for life. libens "willing" agrees with "you"; English turns it into an adverb, "gladly".
  • V.9 Noli aegre ferre, aut animum despondere, aut stomachari, si juxta decreta recta agere volenti, haud perinde semper successerit.Noli ("be unwilling") with an infinitive is the usual Latin prohibition: "do not …". Here it governs three infinitives: aegre ferre "to take (it) hard, be vexed", animum despondere "to lose heart" (literally "to give away one's courage"), and stomachari "to fume", a deponent made from stomachus, the stomach as the seat of irritation.
  • V.9 verum, ubi excussum aliquando te senseris, regredere, pluribusque pro officii humani ratione gestis contentus sis; atque illud, ad quod regrederis, fac diligas.fac "make (sure)" with a subjunctive, ut left out: fac diligas "see that you love". This sentence gives three ways of commanding: the imperative regredere, the jussive contentus sis, and fac with the subjunctive.
  • V.9 sed vide, gratiorne sit magnanimitas, liberalitas, simplicitas, aequanimitas, sanctitas.
  • V.11 hoc te jugiter interroga, simulque te percontare; Ecquid mihi nunc versatur in parte mei illa, quae principalis dici solet?interrogare takes two accusatives, the person asked (te) and the thing asked (hoc): "ask yourself this". percontare looks like an active infinitive but is the imperative of the deponent percontor "question", like regredere in 5.9.
  • V.16 imbue ergo illam cogitationibus istiusmodi. verbi gratia; ubicunque vivere, ibidem et bene vivere licere.
  • V.21 Eorum quae mundus complectitur, quod praestantissimum est colito.colito is the future imperative of colo "tend, honour, worship". The -to imperative gives a standing rule, as in laws: "always reverence". The most excellent thing in the universe is to be honoured as one honours a god.
  • V.21 pari modo et quod in te praestantissimum est, colito.
  • V.22 hanc ad ea omnia regulam adhibe, quibus noceri tibi posse videbitur.hanc … regulam "this rule" encloses ad ea omnia "to all those things": Latin often puts other words between an adjective and its noun. adhibe "apply" is the ordinary imperative of adhibeo. A regula is properly a ruler, a straight edge: the sentence just stated is to be laid against every apparent harm to measure it.
  • V.23 Saepe cogita, quanta cum celeritate abripiantur et subtrahantur, quae sunt fiuntque universa.
  • V.23 cogita itidem vastum istud utrinque adjacens praeteriti ac futuri temporis immensum, quo conduntur universa.
  • V.28 proinde, tu quoque ratione cum sis praeditus, rationali facultate tua eandem in illo excitato, errorem ostendito, commonefacito.Three future imperatives in -to, with no connecting words: "rouse, show him his error, remind him". The -to form is the imperative of laws and fixed rules, a firm instruction rather than a passing request. commonefacere "remind" is commonere "warn" strengthened with facere.
  • V.31 Recole tecum, quo modo te hactenus gesseris erga Deos, parentes, fratres, conjugem, liberos, praeceptores, educatores, amicos, familiares, famulos;recole is the imperative of recolo, literally "cultivate again", hence "go back over, call to mind"; tecum "with yourself" makes it a private review. It governs a string of indirect questions, each with its verb in the subjunctive: quo modo … gesseris, nunquid … admiseris, quae transegeris, quot … videris.
  • V.31 recole quoque quae transegeris negotia, quibusque sustinendis suffeceris.
  • V.31 cogita et vitae tuae historiam jam esse consummatam, munereque tuo te jam defunctum.
  • V.31 recole itidem, quot praeclara videris; quot voluptates ac dolores spreveris; quot pro gloriosis habita neglectui habueris; quot improbis denique aequum te exhibueris.
  • VI.3 Introspice, caveque ne rei cujusquam qualitas dignitasve propria te fugiat.introspice "look inside" is the imperative of introspicio (intro "within" + specio "look"). It means looking into things, beneath their surface, as the rest of the sentence shows, not looking into oneself.
  • VI.7 Hoc uno te oblecta, in eoque acquiesce, ut ab una, quae communitatem juvet, actione, ad alteram transeas, numinis memor.Two imperatives: te oblecta "delight yourself", with the ablative hoc uno "with this one thing", and acquiesce "rest content", with in eo "in it". The -que "and" is attached to eo, the word after the little preposition in, not to in itself.
  • VI.11 Siquando a rebus circumstantibus per vim quandam adactum perturbari te senseris, cito ad te redi, nec plus quam necesse est, ab animi tenore congruo recede.redi is the imperative of redeo "go back". ad te redire "to come back to yourself" is to recover your own reason and composure.nec with an imperative makes a prohibition, a later and poetic usage for classical neve recede or noli recedere: "and do not depart". In plus quam necesse est "more than is necessary", plus is used as an adverb. tenor is the steady, even course of the mind; the Greek has "rhythm".
  • VI.12 ad hanc saepius accede, hac acquiesce, cujus ope, cum quae ibi occurrunt tibi futura sunt toleratu facilia, tum et ipse in eis toleratu facilis.
  • VI.13 Vide igitur, de Xenocrate ipso Crates quid dixerit.
  • VI.19 Noli, siquid tibi fuerit effectu difficile, opinari ideo, hominem nullum id posse.noli ("be unwilling") with an infinitive is the usual way to forbid: noli opinari "do not think". The siquid clause is set in between the two words.
  • VI.27 tu itaque illos doce, erroremque illis ostende, sed absque iracundia.doce and ostende are imperatives; tu with an imperative adds weight: "you, then, teach them". If they are mistaken, the cure is teaching, not anger: absque iracundia "without anger".
  • VI.30 Cave ne in mores Caesareos transeas, ne inficiaris. Solet enim hoc fieri.Cave is the imperative of caveo "take care". Cave ne with the subjunctive is the usual way to warn someone off: "take care that you do not …", i.e. "take care not to …". Two ne clauses follow: ne … transeas and ne inficiaris.
  • VI.30 itaque serva te simplicem, bonum, integrum, gravem, serium, justi amantem, pium, placidum, affectu genuino praeditum, in officio praestando strenuum.serva te "keep yourself" is followed by a string of adjectives in the accusative, agreeing with te, that say what to keep yourself as: "keep yourself simple, good …". They are predicates, like the adjective in "keep it clean".
  • VI.30 contende, talis ut persistas, qualem facere te philosophia volebat.
  • VI.30 Deos verere, homines tuere.
  • VI.30 Tanquam Antonini discipulus, fac quaecunque facis.fac is one of four short imperatives (dic, duc, fac, fer). quaecunque facis "whatever you do" is its object: "do everything you do (as his pupil)".
  • VI.30 imitare constantem illius in rebus rite gestis tenorem, in cunctis aequabilitatem, pietatem, vultus serenitatem, comitatem, gloriae inanis contemptum, in rebus indagandis studium;
  • VI.30 haec, inquam, imitare, ut probe conscio tibi, sicut illi olim, superveniat hora novissima.
  • VI.31 Expergiscere, teque revoca.revoca is an ordinary active imperative: "call yourself back", i.e. come to your senses. Marcus's Greek says "sober up".
  • VI.31 et somno excusso, ubi intellexeris, somnia mera fuisse, quae te conturbabant, ista vigilans jam denuo intuere, quo modo illa es intuitus, quae in somniis vidisti.
  • VI.36 noli ergo ista ab eo quem colis aliena opinari: sed rerum universarum originem tecum perpende.noli with an infinitive is the usual way to forbid: "do not think". opinari is the infinitive of the deponent opinor.
  • VI.38 Perpende tecum jugiter rerum omnium, quae in mundo sunt, connexionem mutuam, quamque ad se invicem affectionem habeant.perpende is the imperative of perpendo "weigh carefully" (the image is of weighing on scales). tecum "with yourself" means "in your own mind", and jugiter "continually" is one of Gataker's favourite words.
  • VI.39 Quibus destinatus es rebus, eis te accommoda;
  • VI.39 et quibuscum vivere sortitus es, homines eos, idque veraciter fac diligas.
  • VI.42 proinde cogita tandem, quorum in numerum te referas.
  • VI.42 tu vero cave pars ejusmodi sis, qualis in fabula vilis et ridiculus versus ille, cujus meminit Chrysippus.cave with the subjunctive and no ne is "beware of being", "take care not to be". ejusmodi … qualis "of such a kind … as": qualis agrees with versus, and est is understood: "such a part as that line (is)".
  • VI.47 Istud jugiter cogita, omnis generis, omniumque tam studiorum, quam et nationum, homines, mortem obiisse.
  • VI.47 descende hoc modo usque ad Philistionem, Phoebum, Origanionem.
  • VI.47 tum ad alias classes te transfer.transfer is not the English word but the imperative of transfero "carry across": like fer from fero, it has no ending. te transfer "carry yourself over": move on in your thoughts to other classes "classes, groups" of the dead.
  • VI.48 Oblectare te siquando libuerit, virtutes eorum, qui tecum vivunt, cogita; hujus industriam, illius modestiam, alterius liberalitatem, alterius aliam aliquam.
  • VI.48 in promptu itaque esto tibi istiusmodi.in promptu "in readiness, at hand" is a fixed phrase; promptus is a noun of the 4th declension found only in this ablative. esto "let it be" is the future imperative of sum, and its subject is istiusmodi "(something) of that kind", a genitive of description standing as a noun: "let there be something of this kind at hand for you". tibi "for you" is a dative of the person concerned: keep such pictures where you can reach them, ready for when you need cheering.
  • VI.50 Sed invitis etiam facito, quod justitiae ratio exegerit.invitis "(they) being unwilling" is an ablative absolute with eis understood: "even against their will". facito is the future imperative of facio, a standing rule: "do". Its object is quod … exegerit "what (the principle of justice) shall have required": Latin uses the future perfect, exact about time, where English says "requires". ratio here is "principle, rule".
  • VI.50 quod siquis vi adhibita obstiterit tibi, tu ad aequanimitatem et tranquillitatem te transfer, eoque quod obstat ad virtutis alterius exercitium fac utare.
  • VI.53 Assuesce eis quae ab alio dicuntur animum sedulo adhibere, et quantum poteris dicentis animo penitus interesse.
  • VI.59 Perpende tecum, quales sint quibus placere cupis, et quarum rerum potiundi caussa id velis, quibusque officiis ista demerearis.
  • VII.2 res ipsas intuere prout prius vidisti. hoc est enim reviviscere.
  • VII.7 Auxilii ne te pudeat.
  • VII.8 De futuris solicitus ne sis.ne sis "do not be" is a prohibition, ne with the present subjunctive, as in Auxilii ne te pudeat just before. futuris is the future participle of sum, a neuter plural used as a noun: de futuris "about the things to come". solicitus "anxious" is Gataker's spelling of sollicitus.
  • VII.17 facesse hinc, per deos, uti accessisti: nihil enim opus te habeo.facesse is the imperative of facesso, a strengthened form of facio which in everyday speech meant "be off, go away": facesse hinc "get out of here". per deos "by the gods" is an oath that adds force to the command.
  • VII.17 nec succenseo tibi tamen. facesse tantum.
  • VII.26 Cum adversus te quicquid peccaverit quis, considera statim, quid bonum malumve esse ratus id egerit.
  • VII.27 Non tam quae desunt tibi, quam quae adsunt, cogita.
  • VII.27 ex his autem selige quae gratissima sunt tibi, quo reputes tecum quanto cum studio ea, ni jam adessent, tibi requireres.
  • VII.27 cave tamen interim, ne, dum istis lubenter acquiescis, eo in pretio habere assuescas te, ut siquando deesse contigerit, turberis.
  • VII.28 In temet convolutus esto.esto is the future imperative of esse, "be, and stay so". The future imperative (esto, memento) is used for standing rules and lasting states rather than one act now. With the perfect participle it means "be (and remain) wrapped up".
  • VII.29 Imaginationes absterge:Section 29 is a string of short commands, each an imperative at the end of its clause: absterge, compesce, circumscribe, dignosce, divide et partire, cogita, relinque. imaginatio is the Stoic "impression" (Greek "phantasia"), the picture a thing makes in the mind before we judge it; wipe it off, and the false judgment goes with it.
  • VII.29 affectuum motus compesce:
  • VII.29 tempus praesens circumscribe:
  • VII.29 dignosce, quicquid vel tibi, vel alii cuiquam contingit.
  • VII.29 rem subjectam quamque divide et partire in formam et materiam.
  • VII.29 horam novissimam cogita.
  • VII.29 quod alteri peccatum est, ibi ubi extitit, relinque.
  • VII.30 Eis quae dicuntur, animum simul intende: in ea quae fiunt faciuntve, mente altius descende.intende and descende are imperatives. animum intendere with a dative is "to turn one's mind to, attend to": eis quae dicuntur "to the things that are said". simul "at the same time" asks you to keep pace with the words as they are spoken, not to drift while someone talks.
  • VII.31 Exorna te simplicitate, modestia, affectu adversus res medias indifferenti.
  • VII.31 genus humanum dilige.
  • VII.31 Deo obsequere.
  • VII.34 Quod ad gloriam, animos eorum, a quibus ea expetitur, considera, quales existant, et qualia tum fugiant, tum et sectentur.
  • VII.34 illud item dispice, sicut arenarum cumuli alii aliis superingesti priora abscondunt; perinde in vita contingere, ut antegressa a succedentibus quam celerrime abscondantur.
  • VII.43 Lamentantibus ne collamenteris, neve commovearis.ne with the present subjunctive gives a prohibition, "do not …", and neve "and not" carries it on. collamenteris is from collamentor "lament together with", a rare compound of con- "with" and the deponent lamentor, matching the Greek synthrēnein; it takes the dative lamentantibus "those lamenting", a participle used as a noun.
  • VII.47 Astrorum cursus contemplare, tanquam una cum illis circumactus.
  • VII.47 elementorum etiam mutationes mutuas animo jugiter revolve.revolve "roll over again" with animo "in the mind" is "turn over, ponder". mutationes mutuas are the "mutual changes" of the elements, earth, water, air and fire turning into one another, as the Stoics taught.
  • VII.49 Praeterita recole, totque imperiorum mutationes.
  • VII.52 at vide ne liberalior, ne modestior, ne ad casus quosvis obsequentior, ne adversus aliorum errata placidior.
  • VII.55 Nolito aliorum mentes circumspicere, sed eo recta intuere, quo natura te ducit; natura, inquam, universi, in eis quae tibi contingunt, et tua etiam, in eis quae tibi sunt agenda.Nolito is the future imperative of nolo 'be unwilling'. With an infinitive it makes a prohibition, 'do not …', like noli, but with the weight of a standing rule. circumspicere 'to look around at': do not peer about at what goes on in other people's minds.
  • VII.56 Tanquam vita jam functus, ejusdemque munere defunctus plane, quod reliquum est tanquam ex abundanti, naturae convenienter fac vivas.fac 'see to it' takes a subjunctive with ut left out: fac vivas 'see that you live'. naturae convenienter 'in agreement with nature' has the dative after the adverb, as after conveniens.
  • VII.58 tu tantum attende tibi, atque in omni actione tua bonum praestare te velis.
  • VII.59 Introspice te.introspicio "look into" (intro "within" + specio "look"; English "introspection") takes a direct object: "look into yourself".
  • VII.62 Crebro tecum perpende, qualesnam sint a quibus probari et praedicari velis, qualique sint mente praediti.
  • VII.64 quoties ergo horum aliquid aegre fers, dic tibi, dolori succumbere te.
  • VII.65 Cave erga inhumanos sic afficiaris, quomodo ipsi erga homines solent.Cave with a plain subjunctive and no ne is "take care not to …, beware of …", as in 4.3: cave … sic afficiaris "take care you are not disposed in such a way". The sense is negative although ne is missing. afficiaris is the present passive subjunctive of afficio: to be affected, i.e. to feel in a certain way towards someone.
  • VII.74 noli ergo defatigari emolumentum in eo capiendo, quod alteri praestas.noli "be unwilling" with an infinitive is the usual prohibition: "do not grow tired". The gerund phrase emolumentum … capiendo "of receiving benefit" wraps round in eo "in that", whose relative clause quod alteri praestas "which you render to another" follows. The point: in doing good to another you act according to nature, and so it is you who gain.
  • VIII.1 proinde si vere perspexisti, in quo res ipsa sita sit, missa existimatione, in hoc duntaxat incumbe, ut vitae quod superest, quantulumcunque id fuerit, pro naturae tuae ductu ac dictamine transigas.
  • VIII.1 tu itaque illa quid velit, intuere, nec te aliud quicquam molestum habeat.
  • VIII.2 In omni actione interroga te, quomodo ista mihi sese habet?
  • VIII.5 ipse autem paulo post, nullus, nusquam futurus es, quomodo et Hadrianus, et Augustus. tum rem ipsam penitius intuitus, eam in se considera.
  • VIII.5 quod autem hominis a te natura exigit, hoc constanter facito, quodque justissimum videbitur, loquitor; placide duntaxat, modeste, citraque dissimulationem.Future imperatives: facito "do" and loquitor "say", the deponent form (from loquor). The future imperative ends in -to (active) or -tor (deponent and passive) and gives a standing order rather than one for the moment; it is the style of Roman laws. English uses the ordinary imperative.
  • VIII.12 Quando somnum gravatim excutis, reminiscere, et conditioni tuae et naturae humanae consentaneum esse, ut actiones ad communitatem conducentes edas, cum dormire etiam brutis animantibus commune sit.
  • VIII.13 Assidue, in omni, quantum potes, viso menti oblato, considera, quaenam ejus natura, ad mores quid faciat, quid in se habeat veritatis.
  • VIII.21 Inverte corpus tuum, atque inspice, quale sit, ubi senuerit; quale sit, ubi morbidum fuerit; quale sit, spiritum ubi efflaverit.Inverte is the imperative of inverto "turn over, turn inside out": look at the body from the other side, at what lies under the skin. atque inspice "and look at it" goes with it; the object of both is corpus tuum.
  • VIII.22 Animum adverte praesenti vel decreto, vel facto, vel dicto.
  • VIII.29 Imaginationes dele; saepe tecum sic loquendo, In potestate mea nunc situm est, ut nulla in hac anima existat improbitas, nulla cupiditas, nulla omnino perturbatio:imaginatio is Gataker's word for the Stoic phantasia, the impression a thing makes on the mind, not "imagination" in our sense. dele "wipe out, blot out" is the imperative of deleo, as one wipes writing off a tablet.
  • VIII.29 memento potestatis hujus a natura tibi tributae.memento is the imperative of memini "remember", and takes the genitive here, potestatis hujus "this power". tributae "given" agrees with it, and a natura names the giver: power over one's own impressions is a gift of nature.
  • VIII.31 tum ad alia te transfer; mortemque cogita, non unius hominis, sed gentis totius, Pompejorum puta.te transfer "carry yourself over", that is, "pass on" to other examples. transfer is the short imperative of transfero, like fer from fero.
  • VIII.31 dein reputa tecum, quam anxie egerint horum antecessores, ut successorem aliquem sibi superstitem relinquerent: cum necesse tamen fuerit, ut aliquis tandem ultimus existeret.
  • VIII.31 atque hic rursus gentis totius mortem considera.
  • VIII.33 Sic accipe, ne fastuosus fias; sic posside, ut dimittere proclivis sis.
  • VIII.34 Verum benignitatem ejus considera, qua hominem cohonestavit: cum et in ipso posuerit, ne primitus ab universo revelleretur, et facultatem tribuerit, ubi fuerit revulsus, redeundi denuoque coalescendi, et partis ordinem, quem tenuerat, recuperandi.
  • VIII.36 Ne confundat te vitae tuae totius cogitatio: neque animo simul complectere, quot qualesque molestias superventuras esse tibi verisimile sit.complectere looks like an infinitive but is the imperative of the deponent complector "embrace, take in": "do not take in". neque with an imperative is a looser way of forbidding than classical neve with the subjunctive. simul "all at once" is the point: one trouble at a time can be borne.
  • VIII.36 sed ad praesentium unumquodque interroga te, quidnam hac in re est, quod subiri aut sustineri nequeat? confiteri namque erubesces.
  • VIII.36 tum cogita tecum, nec quod futurum est, nec quod praeteritum est, sed id semper duntaxat quod praesens est, molestiam tibi facessere.
  • VIII.38 Si acute cernere vales, acumine tuo utere, inquit ille, in rebus eis, quae sapientiam maxime exigunt.
  • VIII.40 quis ipse? ratio. at non sum ratio. esto,
  • VIII.44 Hoc ipsum, quod jam adest, tempus tibimet fac impertias.
  • VIII.45 Tolle me, et quocunque libuerit projice.Two imperatives, tolle "take up" and projice "throw", share the one object me: Marcus dares whoever or whatever may move him. quocunque "to whatever place" is an adverb of motion. libuerit is the future perfect of the impersonal libet "it pleases", with the dative tibi left out: "wherever it shall have pleased (you)", i.e. "wherever you please". The choice comes before the throwing, hence the future perfect.
  • VIII.47 excede ergo e vita aequo animo, quo modo excederes si id agere daretur, simul etiam obstantibus ipsis propitius.Marcus's answer to the second objection: excede "go out, leave", the imperative of excedo, with e vita "from life". aequo animo "with an even mind", an ablative of manner, is the usual Latin for "calmly, without resentment". If the right act is truly blocked and life without it seems not worth living, a Stoic may leave life, but he leaves it in peace, not in anger.
  • VIII.49 Nihil ulterius tecum reputa, quam quod visa primario renunciaverint.
  • VIII.49 hoc igitur modo in primo visis consiste semper, nec amplius quicquam eis a te intus adjicias, et nihil tibi accidit, quod commoveat te.
  • VIII.50 Amarus est cucumis: mitte.Short, clipped sentences, like orders. mitte, the imperative of mitto, here means "let it go, throw it away"; its object is understood.
  • VIII.50 vepres in via: declina.
  • VIII.50 ne pergas dicere, Quare autem in mundo ista sint?ne with the present subjunctive makes a prohibition: "do not go on". pergere + infinitive "to go on to".
  • VIII.59 itaque aut doce, aut sustine.Two imperatives with aut … aut "either … or"; their object, the people one lives among, is left to be understood. sustinere, literally "to hold up", is "to bear, put up with": if they do wrong, show them better; if you cannot, bear with them.
  • VIII.61 In mentem alterius cujusque descende; sed et in tuam ipsius descendere quemlibet patere.descende is the imperative of descendo "go down": go down into another person's mind and see what moves him from within. alterius cujusque "of each other person" joins alter "other" and quisque "each", both genitive with mentem.
  • IX.3 Mortem noli contemnere, sed animo lubenti excipe, tanquam ex eorum quae natura vult, numero quod sit.noli (the imperative of nolo "be unwilling") with an infinitive is the usual Latin way to forbid: noli contemnere "do not despise". Mortem is the object of both commands, contemnere and excipe "welcome".
  • IX.7 Imaginationes absterge; motus compesce; appetitionem extingue; mentem in potestate sui contine.Four commands, each a present imperative with its object in front of it. The singular imperative is the bare stem: absterge and contine end in a long e (2nd conjugation: abstergeo, contineo), compesce and extingue in a short e (3rd conjugation: compesco, extinguo). extinguo is Gataker's spelling of exstinguo.
  • IX.9 vide interim quo res redierit.
  • IX.11 Peccantem, si potes, meliora doceto.docere "to teach" takes two accusatives, the person taught and the thing taught: peccantem "the one who does wrong" (a present participle used as a noun) and meliora "better things" (the neuter plural comparative of bonus). doceto is the future imperative, the form of laws and standing rules, "you shall teach"; English says simply "teach".
  • IX.12 Laborem sustine, non ut miser, nec quo miserationi vel admirationi sis aliis.
  • IX.18 Mentes hominum penitius introspice. videbis, quos judices pertimescas; quales etiam de semet judices sint.The command and its outcome stand side by side with no "and": "look … you will see". The future videbis gives what follows from doing it.
  • IX.21 ad aetates transi, puerilem puta, adolescentiam, juvenilem, senilem.
  • IX.21 transi rursus ad aetatem sub avo, tum sub matre, mox sub patre transactam:
  • IX.21 cumque alias haud paucas differentias mutationesque deprehenderis, interroga te, ecquid in his grave sit.
  • IX.22 Recurrito ad mentem tuam, ad universi, ad delinquentis cujusvis.recurrito is a future imperative, like doceto in §11: "run back", in the language of a standing rule.
  • IX.25 Formae qualitatem animo adi; et a materia abstractam contemplare:adi is the imperative of adeo (ad + eo) "go to, approach", here with an accusative object; animo "in mind" makes the going a mental one: "go in thought to …". In Stoic analysis every thing is made of two parts: the matter, and the cause or form that shapes the matter and gives it its quality. formae qualitatem "the quality of the form" is that second part, what makes the thing the kind of thing it is.
  • IX.25 tum et tempus tecum definito ad quod plurimum res sic affecta perdurare possit.definito is the future imperative of definio "mark the limits of, fix". The forms in -to belong to laws and standing rules, "you shall fix"; in sense this is hardly different from the ordinary imperative defini. tecum "with yourself" means "in your own mind".
  • IX.27 Ubi te alii vituperaverint, vel oderint, vel ejusmodi aliquid oblocuti fuerint, adi animulas eorum, penitius introspice cujusmodi sint.adi "go to", as in 9.25: look past their words to the minds behind them. animulas "little souls", a diminutive of anima, is more pitying than scornful.
  • IX.28 mens autem universi vel ad singula quaeque se promovet. quod si fuerit, ad quod illa se promoverit, tu excipe.
  • IX.29 aggredere, quatenus tibi datur. nec circumspice, nunquis adsit, qui advertat. nec Platonis rempublicam expecta.
  • IX.29 verum sufficiat tibi, si vel parum admodum res processerit; nec vel hoc ipsum parvum quiddam existimaveris.nec with the perfect subjunctive existimaveris is a prohibition, "and do not consider". existimare takes two accusatives, the thing and what it is judged to be: hoc ipsum "this very thing", the small advance, parvum quiddam "something small". Even a little progress is no small thing.
  • IX.29 age nunc, et Alexandrum, Philippum, Demetrium Phalereum mihi refer.age "come!", the imperative of ago, is used like an interjection to rouse someone. Marcus imagines an objector who meets his modest programme by citing great men of action: "go on, bring up Alexander …". refer "bring up, cite" is the imperative of refero; like fer from fero it has no final -e.
  • IX.29 noli me ad fastum insolentem abducere.noli "be unwilling" with an infinitive is the usual prohibition: "do not lead me away". Marcus is answering the imagined objector who held up Alexander and the rest. fastus insolens "arrogant pride" renders a Greek word for pompous self-importance.
  • IX.30 considera et vitam quae sub aliis olim est acta, quae post te erit transigenda, quaeque apud gentes barbaras jam agitur.
  • IX.34 Animulas hominum nudas intuere, ut videas, quales mentes gerant, quibus rebus studeant, et quarum caussa alios diligunt ac honorent.intuere looks like an infinitive, but it is the imperative of the deponent intueor "look at", whose passive-shaped forms have active meaning. nudas is a predicate: look at the souls bare, stripped of everything that covers them. animulas, the diminutive of anima, is "little souls", Marcus's own slighting diminutive.
  • IX.37 num forma? hanc vide.
  • IX.40 orat hic, quomodo fiet, ut illius mulierculae concubitum obtineam? tu ora, quomodo fiet, ut illius concubitum ne concupiscam?
  • IX.40 huc, inquam, omnino vota verte tua, et vide quid futurum sit.
  • IX.42 Quando alterius cujuspiam impudentia offenderis, statim sic percontare te, Fierine ergo potest, ut impudentes in mundo ne sint? non potest.percontare is the imperative of the deponent percontor "ask": a deponent's imperative ends in -re, and so looks like an active infinitive. sic "thus" points ahead to the question, which Gataker gives in direct speech after a comma.
  • IX.42 tu itaque quod non potest, ne poscas.ne with the subjunctive forbids: ne poscas "do not demand". Classical prose prefers the perfect subjunctive (ne poposceris) or noli with the infinitive; Gataker often uses ne with the present. The object is quod non potest "what cannot (happen)", a relative clause with no antecedent, with fieri understood again. tu "you" stands first for emphasis.
  • IX.42 tu vide, annon te potius incusare debeas, quod non expectaveris fore, ut hoc ille delinqueret;
  • IX.42 praecipue vero quando, tanquam infidum aut ingratum aliquem incusas, in temet censuram converte.tanquam "as" gives the charge: tanquam infidum … aliquem incusas "you accuse someone as faithless", that is, "of being faithless". converte is the imperative of converto "turn", and in temet is "against your own self": temet is te with the emphatic -met. censura, the Roman censor's judgment of citizens' conduct, is here "censure, blame".
  • X.2 Observa, quid natura tua exigat, quatenus a natura mera regitur.
  • X.2 tum observa, quid natura, qua es animal, exposcat.
  • X.2 et hoc quicquid est, concede tibi, nisi natura tua, qua es animal rationale, deterius inde se habitura sit.
  • X.2 his regulis usus, nihil ulterius sategeris.sategeris is the perfect subjunctive of satago "busy oneself, fuss" (sat "enough" + ago, whose perfect is egi). The perfect subjunctive with a negative is the usual way to forbid, as in ne feceris "do not do it"; here nihil takes the place of ne: "busy yourself about nothing further", i.e. "do not fuss over anything more".
  • X.4 Siquis fallitur, docendo comiter huic errorem suum indica.
  • X.4 aut hoc si nequeas, te culpa, vel nec te etiam.culpa here is not the noun "fault" but the imperative of the verb culpo "blame": te culpa "blame yourself". In vel nec te etiam the verb is left out: "or not even yourself". Gataker's nec … etiam means the same as ne … quidem "not even": if you could not teach him, it may be no one's fault.
  • X.7 sin, misso quis naturae nomine, ita nata esse dicere voluerit, vide quam ridiculum sit, ut qui dicat universi partes mutare natas, idem hoc ipsum mutare illas, tanquam quod praeter rerum ipsarum naturam contingat, miretur et aegre ferat:
  • X.7 quin et solidum illud aut aereum ne cogites, quod ab ortu primo extitit.A prohibition: ne with the subjunctive, "do not think". Classical prose prefers the perfect subjunctive (ne cogitaveris); Gataker, like many later writers, also uses the present.
  • X.8 Nomina tibi ubi sumpseris ista, boni, modesti, veracis, prudentis, unanimis, magnanimi, cave nequando transnomineris, et amittas denuo nomina ista; celeriterque (siquid tale contigerit) ad ea revertaris.cave "take care" is followed by a ne clause with the subjunctive; nequando is ne + quando "lest at any time": "take care that you are never renamed". transnominare "to change someone's name" is a rare word: to lose these qualities is to lose the right to the names, and so to be called something else. amittas "and (never) lose" depends on the same nequando.
  • X.8 tu vero in nomina pauca haec inde te.inde here is not the adverb "from there" but the imperative of indo "put into" (in + do): in nomina … inde te "put yourself into these names". The Greek says "embark yourself" on them, as on a ship. The pronoun tu makes the command emphatic: "but you …".
  • X.11 huic jugiter attende, et in hac parte temet exerce.
  • X.13 Somno excusso statim percontare te, nunquid tua intererit, si justa bonaque ab alio aliquo fiant. nihil intererit.
  • X.14 Cuncta danti pariter ac recipienti naturae, homo probe institutus ac modestus dicet, Da quod vis; repete quod vis.Two imperatives, da "give" (from dare) and repete "ask back, take back" (repetere, the word for reclaiming what was lent). vis here is "you want", from volo, not the noun vis "force"; quod vis is "whatever you want". The words are spoken directly, so they begin with a capital.
  • X.15 vive tanquam in monte.
  • X.16 Ne ulterius occupere totus, disserendo qualis vir bonus sit, sed enitendo ut ipse sis.ne with the present subjunctive forbids: "do not be taken up any longer". occupere is the second person singular present subjunctive passive of occupo, with the ending -re for the commoner -ris (occuperis); in the passive occupo means "be busy, be wholly taken up". ulterius "further" is the comparative of ultra; with ne it means "no longer". totus "whole" agrees with "you": "all of you, wholly".
  • X.18 Rerum praesentium unamquamque advertendo, considera eam jam dissolutam, et in mutatione et quasi putrefactione quadam, aut dissipatione, constitutam, sive ut mori quodammodo nata sit.
  • X.19 Cogita, quales sint homines vescentes, dormientes, coeuntes, excernentes, alia ejusmodi agentes.
  • X.27 Cogita tecum jugiter, qualia nunc sunt omnia, talia prius actitata; cogita et talia futura esse.
  • X.27 propone tibi ob oculos, fabulas totas scenasque uniformes, quaecunque vel ex notitia tua, vel ex historia antiqua cognita habueris;
  • X.28 Hominem de re ulla dolentem, atque aegre ferentem quicquam, similem habe porcello, qui dum mactatur, calcitrat et vociferatur:
  • X.28 considera et fato nos illigatos teneri: et rationali animali soli datum esse, ut eis quae eveniunt, sponte obsequi possit; cum sequi ipsum omnibus sit necessarium.
  • X.29 Considerata seorsim, quam instituis, re omni, percontare te, num ideo mors gravis habenda sit, quia ea te privet.
  • X.30 Ubi peccato alicujus offenderis, translatione facta perpende tecum, annon ipse ejusmodi aliquid pecces.
  • X.31 Satyrionem ubi videris Socraticum, Eutychem cogita vel Hymenem.
  • X.31 persiste ergo, dum et ista tibi familiaria effeceris, quo modo stomachus robustus cuncta sibi accommodat, ignisque validus, quicquid ingesseris, flammam inde ac fulgorem edit.
  • X.33 in summa memineris, civem indigenam nihil laedere, ni civitatem laedat: civitatem nihil laedere, ni legem laedat.in summa "in short". memineris, the perfect subjunctive of memini, serves as a polite command: "remember".
  • X.36 quin rursus, nec tanquam vitae avulsus, sed, prout eis, quibus mortis felicitas quaedam obtigit, animula a corpore leniter exolvitur, talis et tua ab istis etiam esto discessio.
  • X.37 a temet autem auspicare, teque primo loco scrutare.
  • X.38 Memento illud quod te velut fidiculis citat, esse intra te reconditum quiddam.
  • X.38 ne cum illo junctim contempleris unquam circumjectum, vasis instar, conceptaculum hoc, et instrumenta haec undique ex eodem efficta.ne with the subjunctive forbids: ne … contempleris unquam "never consider". Classical prose prefers the perfect subjunctive in prohibitions (ne contemplatus sis); the present, as here, is common in later Latin and in Gataker. contemplor is deponent. cum illo junctim "together with that": do not count the body as part of the inner self.
  • XI.2 itaque virtute sola excepta et virtutis actionibus, in reliquis omnibus ad particulas seorsim consideratas recurrere memento, ut ab harum disjunctione res ipsas contemptum eas.memento "remember" takes the infinitive recurrere "to run back, have recourse": "remember to go back to the small parts, each considered on its own".
  • XI.6 considera et quae deinceps fuerit media comoedia, et quorsum tandem introducta sit nova, quae in mimicum artificium paulatim defluxit.
  • XI.16 siquidem enim naturae congrua sunt, eis oblecta te, et facilia futura sunt.oblecta te "delight yourself", the imperative of oblecto with a reflexive object, takes the ablative of what delights: eis "in them". facilia futura sunt "they are going to be easy": the future participle of sum with sunt is a future, "they will be easy".
  • XI.16 sin praeter naturam, investiga, quid sit naturae tuae congruum, et ad hoc te accinge, etiamsi minus gloriosum sit.
  • XI.17 Cogita tecum, unde prodierit unumquodque, et ex quibus consistat, et in quid mutet, et ubi mutaverit, quale futurum sit, et quod mutando mali nil patitur.
  • XI.18 De eis qui adversus te delinquunt cogita: Primo, quam relationem ad illos habeas. quodque alteri alterius caussa nati sumus:
  • XI.18 quin et altius rem repete: vel atomos obtinere, vel naturam universa disponere.
  • XI.18 Secundo cogita, quales sint ad mensam, in lectulo alibi.
  • XI.18 istas igitur tolle, missoque de re ipsa, tanquam grave quiddam sit, judicio, ira protinus evanescet.
  • XI.18 Octavo, cogita quanto graviora patiamur ex iracundia ac moestitia, quam de istis concipimus, quam ex eis ipsis, quorum caussa succensemus et angimur.
  • XI.18 Noli sic agere mi fili; ad aliud nati sumus.These are the words you are to say to the offender; Marcus gives them with no verb of saying. noli with an infinitive is the usual polite prohibition: "do not act so".
  • XI.18 Quod si volueris, etiam decimum a Musarum praeside donum accipe.
  • XI.19 aliquid enim non a teipso dicere, in rerum absurdissimarum numero habeto.in numero habere "to have in the number of" is "to count among, reckon as". habeto is the future imperative, the form of laws and standing rules. absurdissimarum is the superlative of absurdus, "most absurd"; the word first meant "out of tune", jarring.
  • XI.19 quartum esto, quicquid conscientia tibi dictaverit, fore per illud, ut pars tui divinior devicta succumbat viliori, corpori nempe mortali ejusque crassis voluptatibus.esto here is the third person of the future imperative, "let (it) be". quartum "the fourth" is neuter, "the fourth (one)". The first three faults each had a short verdict; the fourth is named by a clause, and its verdict is spelled out at length.
  • XI.22 Murem agrestem et domesticum cogita. hujusque pavorem ac trepidationem.
  • XI.28 Cogita Socrates qui fuerit pelle succinctus, quando Xanthippe veste ipsius sumpta foras se proripuerat.
  • XII.1 nec impediverit te, quo minus sic te geras, aut aliena sive vitiositas, sive opinio, sive sermo, aut sensus etiam cingentis te massae istius carneae.
  • XII.7 Cogita qualem te, tum corpore, tum anima, a morte deprehendi oporteat: vitae etiam hujus brevitatem; aevi retrorsum prorsumque vastitatem immensam: materiae denique cujusque imbecillitatem.
  • XII.8 Formas corticibus nudatas contemplare: actionum item intentiones: quid dolor; quid voluptas; quid mors; quid gloria: quis cuique molestiarum autor: quo modo nemo ab alio quopiam impediatur:
  • XII.14 sin providentia, quae placari possit, auxilio divino dignum te praesta.dignus "worthy" takes the ablative: auxilio divino "of divine help". praestare se with an adjective is "to show oneself, prove oneself": "prove yourself worthy".
  • XII.16 hunc tu, si tantum posse te putas, sana.sana is the imperative of sano "heal", not the adjective sana "healthy". tantum is the neuter of tantus, object of posse, "to be able to do so much", not the adverb tantum "only". The challenge is half ironic: the cure for a wrongdoer is to change his disposition (the Greek says "cure this disposition"), not to be angry that he acts on it. If you can do that, do it.
  • XII.17 Ni decorum sit, ne feceris; ni verum sit, ne dixeris.ne with the perfect subjunctive is the regular way to forbid something: ne feceris "do not do (it)", ne dixeris "do not say (it)". The perfect has no past meaning here; it gives a single, firm prohibition. (The other way of forbidding is noli with the infinitive: noli facere.)
  • XII.18 Considera semper, quid illud sit, quod cogitationem tuam afficit;
  • XII.20 Primo vide, nequid temere, aut absque certo aliquo fine.
  • XII.21 Cogita tecum, brevi fore, ut nec ipse ullus usquam futurus sis, nec quicquam eorum quae vides, nec horum quisquam qui nunc vivunt.
  • XII.22 quandocunque ergo volueris, opinionem tolle, et sicut promontorium praetervecto tranquillitas, sic stabilia tibi futura sunt omnia, et sinus aestu immunis.
  • XII.25 Opinionem ejice; salvus es.Command and result stand side by side with no conjunction: "throw out the opinion; (and) you are safe". The present es "you are" makes the result immediate: the moment the opinion goes, you are safe. ejicio is Gataker's spelling of eicio "throw out", from e "out" and jacio "throw".
  • XII.27 tum sciscitare, ubi ista nunc sunt omnia?
  • XII.31 si ergo contemptu digna satis ista videntur omnia, ad illud perge, quod ultimum restat, Deo nempe ac rationi obsequi.
  • XII.32 haec omnia cum cogitaveris, nihil magnum reputa, hoc solo excepto, ut ea facias ad quae natura tua te ducit, ea sustineas quae natura communis infert.
  • XII.33 Vide, quo modo se mens utatur tua. in hoc enim sunt omnia.
  • XII.36 discede ergo propitius. nam et qui te dimittit, propitius est.