Book VIIIMeditations · Liber VIII

Marcus can no longer claim to have lived his whole life as a philosopher, and that itself is a cure for vanity: let reputation go and spend what is left of life as your own nature bids. The good life is not found in logic, wealth, fame or pleasure, but in doing what human nature demands, and that comes from right principles about good and evil.

Hocthis etiamtoo, also adtowards, for inanisinānisempty gloriaeglōriaefor glory studiumthe craving minuendumlessening conducitcondūcit,helps, contributes quodthat, namely that vitamvītamlife totamtōtam,whole eamthat (part) saltemat least quaewhich aāfrom juventutejuventūteyouth hactenushāctenusuntil now transiittrānsiit,has passed nonnōnnot potesyou can praestarepraestāreshow, make good philosophicephilosophicēlike a philosopher ductam.led, livedThis too helps to lessen the craving for empty glory: that you cannot show your whole life, or at least the part of it that has passed from youth until now, as one led like a philosopher.ad inanis gloriae studium minuendum ad with a noun and a gerundive expresses purpose. The gerundive minuendum agrees with studium like an adjective, "towards the craving being lessened", which English turns into "for lessening the craving". inanis gloriae "of empty glory" is what is craved: the love of fame for its own sake, vainglory. The gerundive with ad, in and the genitiveHoc … quod Hoc "this" points ahead, and the quod clause says what it is: "this, (namely) that you cannot …". Here quod is the conjunction "the fact that", not the relative pronoun.eam saltem quae a juventute hactenus transiit eam "that (part)" stands beside vitam totam and corrects it: "your whole life, or at least the part which has passed from youth until now". hactenus means "thus far, up to now". Demonstratives: hic, ille, iste, is, ipse, idemnon potes praestare philosophice ductam praestare with an object and a predicate means "to show (something) to be so, make it good": you cannot show your life as philosophice ductam "led philosophically". vitam ducere "to lead a life" is the usual phrase, kept here in the participle. Marcus means it is too late to have been a philosopher all along. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nouns siquidemsīquidemfor, since cumboth aliisaliīsto others haudnot paucispaucīs,few tumand especially etalso tibiipsitibiipsīto you yourself compertumfound out, known est,it is aāfrom philosophiaphilosophiāphilosophy longelongēfar tetēyou abesse.to be awayFor it is well known both to a good many others and to you yourself too that you are far from philosophy.cum aliis haud paucis, tum et tibiipsi cum … tum means "both … and above all": the second member is the weightier. haud paucis "not few" means "a good many", saying less to mean more; et here is "also". tibiipsi is tibi ipsi "to you yourself", written as one word, as Gataker often joins a pronoun to ipse: "and to you yourself too". Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…sivecompertum est, a philosophia longe te abesse compertum est "it has been found out, it is known for certain" (from comperio); the datives say to whom it is known. What is known is an accusative and infinitive: te abesse "that you are far away" from philosophy. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement) conturbataeconturbātaethrown into disorder suntare itaqueso, therefore rationesratiōnēsaccounts tuae:your nequeand not adeoadeōso, indeed auteither facileeasy estis tibifor you philosophiphilosophīof a philosopher existimationemexīstimātiōnemthe reputation compararecomparāre;to win, acquire etand vitaevītaeof (your) life etiamalso institutumīnstitūtumthe set course adversaturadversātur.stands against (it)So your accounts are in disorder: and so it is not easy for you either to win the reputation of a philosopher; and the set course of your life is against it too.conturbatae sunt itaque rationes tuae rationes here are "accounts", as in book-keeping, and rationes conturbare "to throw one's accounts into confusion" was the Roman phrase for going bankrupt. The record of your life is in disorder and can no longer be made to balance as a philosopher's. conturbatae sunt is perfect passive: "have been thrown into disorder", that is, "are in disorder".neque adeo aut facile est tibi philosophi existimationem comparare The infinitive comparare "to acquire" is the subject of facile est "it is easy": "to win a philosopher's reputation is not easy for you". neque adeo means "and so not". After a negative, aut carries the "not" on ("not … either"); here it stands alone, without a second aut, and neque adeo aut comes to "and so … not … either". Gataker's own edition (1652) prints it so. The Greek has "no longer" here. The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement)vitae etiam institutum adversatur vitae institutum "the settled course of your life": Marcus means his station as emperor, which keeps him from a philosopher's life. adversatur "is opposed" is a deponent, active in meaning; supply "to it", the reputation. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaning proindetherefore sisīif verevērētruly perspexistiperspexistī,you have seen clearly inin quoquōwhat resrēsthe matter ipsaitself sitaplaced, lying sit,is missalet go existimationeexīstimātiōne,reputation into, upon hocthis duntaxatonly incumbe,apply yourself utthat vitaevītaeof life quodwhat superest,remains quantulumcunquehowever little idit fuerit,shall prove to be proprōaccording to naturaenātūraeof nature tuaeyour ductuductūthe guidance acand dictaminedictāminedictate transigastrānsigās.you pass, spendTherefore, if you have truly seen where the matter itself lies, let reputation go and apply yourself to this alone: to pass what remains of your life, however little it proves to be, by the guidance and dictate of your own nature.si vere perspexisti, in quo res ipsa sita sit in quo … sita sit "in what the thing itself lies" is an indirect question, the object of perspexisti, so its verb is subjunctive. res ipsa "the thing itself" is what really matters, as against what people think of you; situm esse in "to be placed in, to lie in" comes from sino. Indirect questionsmissa existimatione An ablative absolute: "reputation having been let go", that is, "letting reputation go". mittere here means "to let go, dismiss". Ablative absolutein hoc duntaxat incumbe, ut … transigas incumbere in "to lean on, throw one's weight into" a task. hoc "this" points ahead to the ut clause, which says what the task is: "to this alone apply yourself: that you pass …". Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)vitae quod superest quod superest "what remains" is the object of transigas, with its antecedent (id) left out; vitae "of life" is a partitive genitive. vitam transigere means "to pass, spend one's life". Partitive genitive (aliquid boni, nihil…)quantulumcunque id fuerit quantuluscunque "however small" (-cunque is Gataker's spelling of -cumque "-ever"). fuerit is future perfect, looking ahead to the end: "however little it shall have proved to be". The future perfect ("if you will have done…")pro naturae tuae ductu ac dictamine pro here means "in accordance with". ductus is "leading, guidance", dictamen "dictate", a late Latin word: live as your own nature leads and bids. tutūyou itaqueso illashe (your nature) quidwhat velit,she wants intuereintuēre,look at necand not tetēyou aliudelse quicquamanything molestumtroublesome habeat.let (it) holdSo look closely at what she wants, and let nothing else trouble you.illa quid velit, intuere intuere is not an infinitive: it is the imperative of the deponent intueor "look at" (a deponent's singular imperative ends in -re). illa "she" is your nature, from the sentence before; it is put ahead of quid velit "what she wants" for emphasis. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningnec te aliud quicquam molestum habeat A jussive subjunctive: "and let nothing else, (being) troublesome, hold you", that is, "let nothing else trouble you". After nec, Latin uses quisquam "anyone, anything": nec … quicquam = "and nothing". molestum can also be taken with te: "keep you troubled". Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…") etenimfor indeed expertuslearned by trial jamalready es,you have perthrough quamhow multamany things divagatusdīvagātus,having wandered vitamvītamthe life bonamgood beatamquebeātamqueand happy nusquamnowhere invenerisinvēnerīs;you found nonnōnnot inin syllogismissyllogismīs,syllogisms nonnōnnot inin divitiisdīvitiīs,riches nonnōnnot inin gloriaglōriā,glory necnor inin voluptatevoluptāte,pleasure necnor ullibiūllibī.anywhereFor you have already learned by experience how many things you wandered through and nowhere found the good and happy life: not in syllogisms, not in riches, not in glory, nor in pleasure, nor anywhere at all.expertus jam es expertus es is the perfect of the deponent experior "try, find out by trial": "you have learned by experience". divagatus "having wandered" is likewise a deponent participle with an active meaning. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningper quam multa divagatus … nusquam inveneris An indirect question after expertus es, hence the perfect subjunctive inveneris. In quam multa "how many things", quam "how" goes with multa. Read it as: "how many things you wandered through, and nowhere found the good life". Indirect questionsnon in syllogismis, non in divitiis, non in gloria, nec in voluptate, nec ullibi The places he searched, with inveneris understood: logic (the syllogism is the logician's tool), wealth, fame and pleasure. ullibi "anywhere" after nec closes the list: "nor anywhere at all". Words left out: esse, sum and others understood inin quonamquōnamwhat, then ergoergōthen consistitcōnsistit?does it lie inin eiseīsthose things faciendisfaciendīsbeing done quaewhich exigitdemands naturanātūranature humanahūmāna.humanIn what, then, does it lie? In doing the things that human nature demands.in quonam ergo consistit? quonam is the ablative of quisnam "what, pray?": -nam sharpens the question. The subject of consistit "lies, consists" is the good life just named. The page of Gataker's edition leaves out ergo "then"; his own list of corrections at the end of the book puts it in.in eis faciendis The gerundive agrees with its noun: in eis faciendis "in those things being done", that is, "in doing those things". Latin prefers this to a gerund with an object (in faciendo ea). The gerundive with ad, in and the genitive atbut haecthese things quomodoquōmodohow quisone, anyone faciat?is (one) to do sisīif decretadēcrētaprinciples nactusgot sit,has aāfrom quibuswhich appetitionesappetītiōnēsimpulses actusqueāctūsqueand actions istiusmodiistīusmodīof that kind profluantprōfluant.may flowBut how is one to do these things? If one has got principles from which impulses and actions of that kind may flow.haec quomodo quis faciat? A deliberative question in the subjunctive: "how is one to do these things?". quis is the unstressed indefinite "anyone, one"; haec "these things" are what human nature demands. Potential and deliberative subjunctive in questionssi decreta nactus sit nactus sit is the perfect subjunctive of the deponent nanciscor "get, come by": "if he has got principles". sit is Gataker's reading (1652); the later reprints print fit, since the long s (ſ) of the old type is easily read as f. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningappetitiones actusque istiusmodi istiusmodi "of that kind" (istius modi) is a genitive of description: impulses and actions such as human nature demands. appetitio is Cicero's word for the Stoic impulse to act.a quibus appetitiones actusque istiusmodi profluant The relative clause has the subjunctive profluant because it says what kind of principles are needed: "principles such that impulses and actions of that kind flow from them". It also stands inside the si clause, whose verb nactus sit is subjunctive. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui) quaenam,what (exactly) inquis,you ask decretadēcrēta?principles dedēabout bonisbonīsgood things malisquemalīsque,and evil things utnamely that nihilnothing nimirumnīmīrumthat is to say hominihominīfor a human being bonumgood censeatcēnseat,one should judge quodwhich nonnōnnot justumjūstum,just temperantem,self-controlled fortem,brave liberalemlīberālemfree-spirited faciat;makes nihilnothing malum,evil quodwhich nonnōnnot istisistīsto these (qualities) contrariumcontrārium.oppositeWhat principles, you ask? Those about good and evil things: namely, that one should judge nothing good for a human being which does not make him just, self-controlled, brave and free-spirited; and nothing evil which does not make him the opposite of these.quaenam, inquis, decreta? inquis "you say" is set into the question it reports: Marcus imagines himself objecting. The verb is left out, quaenam (sunt) decreta? "what principles (are they)?", and the answer too is a phrase: "(those) about good and evil things". Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodut nihil nimirum homini bonum censeat The ut clause spells out what the principles say: "that one should judge nothing good for a human being …". The subject of censeat is the indefinite "one", the quis of the question before. nimirum "of course, that is to say" brings in the explanation. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)quod non justum, temperantem, fortem, liberalem faciat facere with an object and a predicate adjective means "make (someone) so". The object, the man, is understood from homini, and the four adjectives agree with it: "which does not make him just, self-controlled, brave, free-spirited". liberalis "befitting a free man" stands here for freedom of spirit, not only generosity. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)nihil malum, quod non istis contrarium Shortened: supply censeat, eum and faciat: "(that one should judge) nothing evil which does not (make him) the opposite of these". contrarius "opposite" takes the dative: istis contrarium "opposite to these". Words left out: esse, sum and others understood

Before every action ask how it stands with you and whether you will regret it. Death is near and everything will pass; seek nothing more than that what you are doing now be the work of a rational, social being acting under the same law as God.

Inin omniomnīevery actioneāctiōneaction interrogainterrogāask tetē,yourself quomodoquōmodohow istathis (action) mihifor me sesesēsēitself habet?does (it) standIn every action ask yourself: How does this stand with me?quomodo ista mihi sese habet? se habere "to hold oneself" is the Latin for "to be (in some state)": quomodo se habet? "how does it stand?". ista is the action, and mihi "for me" a dative of reference. The question is quoted as you would ask it, so its verb is indicative, though it follows interroga; an indirect question would have habeat. Reflexive pronouns: se, sibi, sui, suus numsurely … not? futurumfutūrumgoing to be est,is utthat ejusof it poeniteatit makes sorry memē?meIs it going to turn out that I regret it?num futurum est, ut num asks a question expecting the answer "no". futurum est ut "it is going to be that" is a roundabout future, with the ut clause as its subject: "is it going to happen that …?". Future participle with sum (moriturus sis, victurus esses)ejus poeniteat me poenitet is impersonal: the person who is sorry goes in the accusative (me), the cause of the regret in the genitive (ejus, the action). Literally "it makes me sorry of it", that is, "I regret it". Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur) propenear adestis at hand tempus,the time quoquōat which moriturusmoritūrusabout to die sum,I am omniaqueand all things mihifor me transituratrānsitūra.about to pass awayThe time is near at hand when I shall die, and everything will pass away from me.quo moriturus sum, omniaque mihi transitura The future participle with sum says what is about to happen: moriturus sum "I am going to die". In the second clause sunt is left out: omnia transitura (sunt) "all things are going to pass away". quo "at which" is an ablative of time; its antecedent is tempus. Future participle with sum (moriturus sis, victurus esses) quidwhat ergoergōthen expetoexpetōdo I seek ulterius,further, more quamthan utthat illudthat quodwhich impraesentiarumimpraesentiārumat present agoagō,I am doing opusthe work sitbe animantisof a living being rationalisratiōnālis,rational socialissociālis,social eademqueeādemqueand the same cumas (with) DeoDeōGod ipsoipsōhimself legelēgelaw agentis.actingWhat more, then, do I seek than that what I am doing at present be the work of a living being that is rational, social, and acts under the same law as God himself?quid ergo expeto ulterius ulterius "further, more" is the comparative adverb of ultra, and quam "than" follows it. The question is rhetorical: I want nothing more. Gataker closes it with a full stop.quam ut illud quod impraesentiarum ago, opus sit After the comparative, quam "than" brings in the second term, and here it is a whole clause: ut … sit "that … be", a noun clause like an object of expeto: "what more do I seek than that what I am doing now be the work of …". illud quod impraesentiarum ago "that which I am doing at present" is the subject, opus the predicate; the genitives that follow describe the being whose work it is. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)eademque cum Deo ipso lege agentis agentis "acting" agrees with animantis. eadem lege cum Deo "by the same law as God": after idem "the same", Gataker uses cum "with" where English says "as". Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nouns

Alexander, Caesar and Pompey are nothing beside Diogenes, Heraclitus and Socrates. The philosophers saw into things, their form and their matter; the conquerors, who did not, had endless cares and were slaves to countless affairs.

Alexander,Alexander CajusCājus,Gaius PompejusPompējus,Pompey quidwhat adcompared with Diogenem,Diogenes HeraclitumHēraclītum,Heraclitus SocratemSōcratem?SocratesAlexander, Gaius, Pompey: what are they beside Diogenes, Heraclitus, Socrates?quid ad Diogenem, Heraclitum, Socratem? quid ad …? "what (are they) compared with …?" is a common short question with the verb left out; ad here means "in comparison with". The answer expected is: nothing. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodAlexander, Cajus, Pompejus Three conquerors against three philosophers. Cajus is Gaius Julius Caesar, called by his first name as in the Greek; Gataker spells it the old way, with C for G and j for the consonant i, and writes Pompejus for Pompey. istiistīthese men siquidemsīquidemfor resrēsthings ipsasipsāsthemselves perspectasperspectāsseen through habebanthabēbant,had formasquefōrmāsqueand the forms earundemeārundemof the same (things) etand materiasmāteriās.matterFor these men had seen into things themselves, and into their forms and their matter.res ipsas perspectas habebant habere with an object and a perfect participle stresses the state reached: perspectas habebant "they had them seen through", that is, they understood them thoroughly. isti "these men" are the philosophers. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsformasque earundem et materias earundem "of the same (things)" is used where English says "their". Form and matter are the two sides of everything in Stoic thought: what makes a thing what it is, and the stuff it is made of. The philosophers knew both; perspectas is understood with them. atqueand hochōcthis modomodōin (this) way instructaeīnstrūctaeequipped erantwere mentesmentēsthe minds horumhōrum.of these menAnd in this way the minds of these men were equipped.hoc modo instructae erant mentes horum instructae erant "were equipped, furnished": a perfect participle with erant, describing a settled state. hoc modo "in this way" looks back to the knowledge just named, and horum "of these men" still means the philosophers. illisillīsfor those men verovērō,but cumsince eathose things neutiquamby no means perspectaseen into haberenthabērent,they had dedēabout quamhow multismultīsmany things solicitossolicitōsanxious esseto be necessenecessary fuit?it was quamhow multismultīsmany rebusrēbusthings inservireīnservīre?to serveBut as for those others, since they had by no means seen into these things, about how many things did they have to be anxious? To how many things did they have to be slaves?illis vero … de quam multis solicitos esse necesse fuit? illis "those men" are the conquerors named first; isti and horum were the philosophers. necesse fuit "it was necessary" takes an infinitive as its subject and the person in the dative. solicitos is accusative because it agrees with the unexpressed subject of esse (eos): "for them, to be anxious about how many things?". Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)cum ea neutiquam perspecta haberent cum with the subjunctive haberent gives the reason: "since they had by no means seen into those things". The words answer the philosophers' res ipsas perspectas habebant: a perfect participle with habere stresses knowledge held, "to have (things) seen through". ea "those things" are the realities with their forms and matter; neutiquam "by no means" is a strong "not". Clauses with cum: when, since, althoughquam multis rebus inservire? necesse fuit is understood again. inservire "to be a slave to" takes the dative: quam multis rebus "to how many things". The great conquerors were servants of their many affairs. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi)

People will go on doing the same things, however much you fume.

Eademthe same things nihilominusnihilōminusnone the less facturosfactūrōsgoing to do meminerismeminerīs,you should remember etiamsietiamsīeven if tutūyou tetēyourself ruperisrūperis.burstRemember that they will do the same things none the less, even if you burst yourself.Eadem nihilominus facturos memineris memineris "you should remember" is a perfect-form subjunctive with present meaning, used as a gentle command. What to remember is an accusative and infinitive with its subject and esse both left out: (eos) eadem facturos (esse) "that they will do the same things". The people who vex you will go on as before. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement)etiamsi tu te ruperis te rumpere "to burst yourself", with anger or straining. The future perfect ruperis "(shall) have burst" puts the bursting first; English uses the present. The phrase is an old one: in Horace (Satires 2.3) a frog puffing herself up to match a calf is told non, si te ruperis, par eris "you will not equal it, not even if you burst yourself". The future perfect ("if you will have done…")

First, do not be upset: everything happens by the nature of things, and soon you will be no one and nowhere, like Hadrian and Augustus. Then look hard at the matter, remember that you must be a good man, and do and say what is just, calmly, modestly and without pretence.

InprimisInprīmīsfirst of all nenēnot commoveariscommoveāris.be disturbedFirst of all, do not be disturbed.Inprimis ne commovearis ne with the present subjunctive forbids: "do not be disturbed". The passive commovearis "be shaken, be upset" has a reflexive sense: do not let yourself be upset. Inprimis "first of all" is Gataker's spelling of imprimis, from in primis "among the first things". Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…") obveniunthappen enimfor secundumaccording to rerumrērumof things naturamnātūramthe nature universaūniversa:all thingsFor all things happen according to the nature of things:obveniunt … universa The subject comes last: universa "all things", a neuter plural adjective used as a noun. rerum natura "the nature of things" is the nature of the whole world, which orders all that happens. Neuter plurals and adjectives used as nouns (bona, mala, omnia) ipseyou yourself autemand paulopaulōa little post,later nullusnūllus,no one nusquamnowhere futurusfutūrusgoing to be es,you are quomodoquōmodojust as etboth HadrianusHadriānus,Hadrian etand Augustus.Augustus tumthen remthe matter ipsamitself penitiusmore deeply intuitus,having looked into eamit inin sesēitself consideracōnsīderā.considerAnd you yourself will shortly be no one and nowhere, just as Hadrian and Augustus are. Then, looking more deeply into the matter itself, consider it in itself.nullus, nusquam futurus es futurus es "you are going to be": the future participle of esse with es. nullus "no one" and nusquam "nowhere" are the predicate: soon you will not exist at all, nor be in any place. Future participle with sum (moriturus sis, victurus esses)quomodo et Hadrianus, et Augustus quomodo here means "just as", and the verb comes from what precedes: "just as both Hadrian and Augustus (are no one, nowhere)". Two great emperors: Augustus the first of them, Hadrian the one who chose Marcus's line. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodtum rem ipsam penitius intuitus, eam in se considera Latin often puts the first of two actions in a participle: intuitus "having looked into" (from the deponent intueor), then considera "consider": "look more deeply into the matter, then consider it". penitius is the comparative of the adverb penitus "deeply". in se "in itself" refers to the matter (eam), not to you. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nouns simulat the same time meminerismeminerīs,remember probumgood, upright esseto be tetēyou oportereoportēre.(that) it is needfulAt the same time remember that you must be a good man.probum esse te oportere What to remember is an infinitive clause whose verb is the impersonal oportere "that it is needful"; oportet in turn takes an accusative and infinitive, te probum esse "that you be good". So: "remember that you must be a good man". memineris is a gentle command, as in section 4. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement) quodwhat autemand hominisa man's (part) aāfrom tetēyou naturanātūranature exigit,demands hocthis constantercōnstantersteadily facitofacitō,do quodqueand what justissimumjūstissimummost just videbiturvidēbitur,will seem loquitor;say placideplacidēcalmly duntaxat,only modestemodestē,modestly citraquecitrāqueand without dissimulationemdissimulātiōnem.pretenceAnd what nature demands of you as a man, do that steadily, and say whatever will seem most just; only calmly, modestly, and without pretence.facito … loquitor 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. Commands: imperative, memento, ne with the perfect subjunctivequod autem hominis a te natura exigit, hoc The relative clause comes first and hoc takes it up: "what nature demands of you, this do". hominis "a man's" is a genitive of characteristic: what belongs to a man, his part as a man. Nature demands it a te "from you". Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodquodque justissimum videbitur quodque is quod + -que "and what", not a form of quisque. Its antecedent (id) is left out: "and say (that) which will seem most just". videri "to be seen" means "to seem". Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodplacide duntaxat, modeste, citraque dissimulationem duntaxat "only" limits what follows: say it, only calmly. citra with the accusative means "short of", and in Gataker's later Latin simply "without": "without pretence".

The business of nature is to move things, change them, take them from here and set them down there. All of it is familiar, so there is nothing new to fear, and the same law holds for everything.

UniversiŪniversīof the universe naturanātūrathe nature hocthis solenneas its custom habet;has, holds quae(the things) which isticistīchere existuntexist illoillōto that place transferretrānsferre,to carry over resrēsthings mutaremūtāre,to change hincfrom here tollere,to take away illicillīcthere deponeredēpōnere,to set down omniaall things vicesvicēschanges hashāsthese subeunt:undergoThe nature of the universe has this as its regular business: to move to another place what exists here, to change things, to take them away from here and set them down there; all things undergo these changes:hoc solenne habet; quae istic existunt illo transferre hoc "this" points ahead, and four infinitives say what it is: transferre, mutare, tollere, deponere "to carry over, to change, to take away, to set down". solenne "customary" is the predicate: nature holds this as its regular business. solennis is Gataker's spelling of sollemnis. The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement)quae istic existunt illo transferre The relative clause, its antecedent (ea) left out, is the object of transferre: "to move to there (the things) which exist here". istic "here", illo "to there", hinc "from here" and illic "there" are all adverbs of place: things are always being shifted from one place to another.omnia vices has subeunt vices "turns, changes" comes from vicis, which has no nominative singular. subire "to go under" means "to undergo": "all things undergo these changes". usitataūsitātafamiliar suntare omnia,all things utso that metuendumto be feared nonnōnnot sit,is nequidnēquidthat something novinovīnew emergatēmergat.may come upall things are familiar, so that there is no need to fear that anything new may come up.ut metuendum non sit ut with the subjunctive after a statement is a result clause: "so that …". metuendum (est) is the gerundive used impersonally, "it is to be feared", that is, "one must fear"; with non, "there is no need to fear". Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt)nequid novi emergat nequid is ne quid written as one word. After a verb of fearing, ne introduces what is feared, so it is translated "that": "(no need to fear) that something new may come up". quid novi "something of new" means "something new", a partitive genitive. Partitive genitive (aliquid boni, nihil…) SirempsSīrempsthe same deniquedēniquein short omnibusall dedēconcerning istisistīsthese things lexlēx.lawIn short, the same law holds for all of these.Siremps … lex siremps is an old word of Roman law meaning "the same"; statutes said siremps lex esto "let the same law apply". Gataker uses the formula here with est left out: "the same law (holds) for all these things". The Greek says rather that the shares are equal. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodomnibus de istis omnibus de istis = de omnibus istis "concerning all these": a preposition is often placed between an adjective and the word it goes with.

Every nature is content when it goes well, and a rational nature goes well when it assents only to what is true and clear, aims its impulses at the common good, desires and shuns only what is in its power, and welcomes what nature gives it. It is part of the nature of the whole as a leaf is part of a tree, but of a nature that cannot be hindered and is just, and gives each thing its fair share; to see this, compare whole with whole, not item with item.

NaturaNātūranature omnisevery sesesēsēin itself prospereprosperēwell procedenteprōcēdentegoing forward acquiescitacquiēscit,rests contentEvery nature rests content in itself when it is going forward well,sese prospere procedente acquiescit acquiescere "to come to rest, be content" takes the ablative of what one rests in: sese "in itself". The present participle procedente agrees with sese: "rests content in itself going forward well", that is, it is satisfied with itself when it is on its right course. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nouns prospereprosperēwell autemand proceditprōcēditgoes forward rationalisratiōnālisrational naturanātūra,nature ubiwhen inin cogitandocōgitandōthinking necneither falsofalsō,to anything false necnor incertoincertōto anything uncertain assentiturassentītur,assents impulsusimpulsūsimpulses suossuōsits adtowards opera,works quaewhich societatemsocietātemsociety, fellowship juvent,help solasōlaonly dirigitdīrigit,directsand a rational nature goes forward well when, in its thinking, it assents to nothing false and nothing uncertain, directs its impulses only to works that help society,ubi in cogitando nec falso, nec incerto assentitur assentior "assent, agree to" is a deponent that takes the dative: falso, incerto "to (anything) false, to (anything) uncertain", neuter adjectives used as nouns. In Stoic language, to assent is to accept an impression as true. in cogitando "in thinking" is the gerund after in. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi)impulsus suos impulsus here is not the participle of impello: it is the noun impulsus "impulse" (4th declension), accusative plural in -ūs, the object of dirigit.ad opera, quae societatem juvent, sola The subjunctive juvent marks a relative clause of characteristic: "works of the kind that help society". sola "only" agrees with opera, though it stands after the clause: to such works only. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui) appetitionesappetītiōnēsdesires etand aversationesāversātiōnēsaversions adto eathose things solasōla,only quaewhich inin nobisnōbīsus sitaplaced sunt,are adhibet,applies aāby rerumrērumof things naturanātūrānature deniquedēniquefinally quicquidwhatever assignatumassignātumassigned fuerit,shall have been amplectitur.welcomesapplies its desires and aversions only to the things that lie in our power, and finally welcomes whatever has been assigned to it by the nature of things.appetitiones et aversationes ad ea sola, quae in nobis sita sunt, adhibet The third thing a rational nature does: it adhibet "applies" its appetitiones et aversationes "desires and aversions", what it reaches for and what it turns from, only to what lies in nobis "in us", that is, in our power: our own judgements and choices, not what happens to us. Here appetitio means desire; in section 1 it meant the impulse to act.a rerum natura denique quicquid assignatum fuerit, amplectitur a rerum natura "by the nature of things" is the agent of the passive assignatum fuerit, a future perfect with fuerit for erit: "whatever shall have been assigned", that is, whatever is assigned at any time. The whole quicquid clause is the object of amplectitur "welcomes", a deponent. Agent with the passive: a, ab with the ablative hujusof this (nature) enimfor parsa part est,it is utas foliifoliīof a leaf naturanātūrathe nature parspart naturaenātūraeof the nature estis arboris.of the tree hocthis tantumonly interest,is the difference quodthat ibithere foliifoliīof the leaf naturanātūrathe nature parspart estis naturaenātūraeof a nature sensussēnsūsof sense rationisqueratiōnisqueand of reason exortis,without a share in etand impedimentoimpedīmentōto hindrance obnoxiae.liableFor it is a part of this nature, as the nature of a leaf is part of the nature of the tree. There is only this difference, that there the nature of the leaf is part of a nature that has no share in sense or reason, and is liable to hindrance,hujus enim pars est, ut folii natura pars naturae est arboris hujus "of this" is the nature of things just named; the subject of est is rational nature: it is a part of the whole. ut with the indicative means "as": as the leaf's nature belongs to the tree's, so ours belongs to the nature of the whole. Note the order naturae est arboris, with the verb between the noun and its genitive.hoc tantum interest, quod interest "there is a difference"; hoc "this" is spelled out by the quod clause: "there is only this difference, that …". ibi "there" means in the case of the leaf. Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)sensus rationisque exortis, et impedimento obnoxiae Both adjectives agree with naturae. exors "without a share in" (Gataker writes exortis for exsortis) takes the genitive (sensus rationisque "sense and reason"); obnoxius "liable, exposed to" takes the dative (impedimento "hindrance"). A tree has neither feeling nor reason, and it can be thwarted. cumwhereas hominisof a man naturanātūrathe nature parspart sitis naturaenātūraeof a nature impediriimpedīrīto be hindered nesciae,not knowing how rationalisratiōnālis,rational justaejūstae.justwhereas the nature of a man is part of a nature that cannot be hindered, and is rational and just.cum hominis natura pars sit cum with the subjunctive here means "whereas": it sets man against the leaf. Gataker puts a full stop before it, but it finishes the contrast begun with hoc tantum interest. Clauses with cum: when, since, althoughnaturae impediri nesciae nescius "not knowing" with an infinitive means "not knowing how to", a poetic turn: a nature that "knows not how to be hindered", that is, one that cannot be hindered. haecthis (nature) autemand etboth tempora,times etand materiammāteriam,matter etand formamfōrmam,form etand facultatesfacultātēs,powers etand casuscāsūsevents exfrom aequoaequōthe equal distribuitdistributes singulissingulīsto each quibusqueand every proprōaccording to uniuscujusqueūnīuscujusqueof each one dignitatedignitāte.worthAnd this nature distributes times, matter, form, powers and events fairly to each and every thing, according to the worth of each.et tempora, et materiam, et formam, et facultates, et casus Five objects, each with et: "times, matter, form, powers and events", that is, how long a thing lasts, what it is made of, what it is, what it can do, and what befalls it. The repeated et gives each item its weight. Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…siveex aequo … singulis quibusque pro uniuscujusque dignitate ex aequo "from the equal" means "equally, fairly". singulis quibusque "to each and every one" is dative; pro uniuscujusque dignitate "according to the worth of each one": fair shares, measured by what each deserves. uniuscujusque is the genitive of unusquisque, with both halves declined. idthis quodwhich deprehenderedēprehendereto detect, see licebitlicēbit,it will be possible sisīif nonnōnnot seorsimsēorsimseparately, by itself unumūnumone (item) aliquodsome inin rerēthing ullaūllāany consideraveriscōnsīderāveris,you consider sedbut istiusistīusof this one omniaall the parts cumwith alteriusalterīusof another alicujussome confertimcōnfertimall together sumptissūmptīstaken contuleris.you compareThis you will be able to see if you do not consider some single item in any thing by itself, but compare all the parts of this one with all those of some other, taken together.id quod deprehendere licebit id quod "a thing which" sums up what has just been said. licebit "it will be allowed, it will be possible" is impersonal, with the infinitive deprehendere "to detect" as its subject: "this you will be able to see". Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)si non … consideraveris, sed … contuleris Two future perfects in the si clause: the comparing must be done before the seeing. English uses the present: "if you do not consider …, but compare …". The future perfect ("if you will have done…")istius omnia cum alterius alicujus confertim sumptis contuleris conferre cum means "to compare with". istius omnia "all (the parts) of this one" are compared cum alterius alicujus (omnibus) confertim sumptis "with (all those) of some other, taken together": omnibus is understood from omnia, and sumptis agrees with it. Weigh the whole share against the whole share, not item against item.

Even if you cannot read, much is still in your power: to refrain from insult, to rise above pleasure and pain, to think nothing of fame, and not to be angry with the stupid and ungrateful but even to care for them.

AdeoAdeōso, to such a degree esyou are illiteratusillīterātus,unlettered utthat necnot even legereto read possispossīs.you canYou are so unlettered that you cannot even read.Adeo … ut nec legere possis adeo "to such a degree, so" looks ahead to ut, which here is "that" of result: "so unlettered that…". A result clause takes the subjunctive (possis), though English uses a plain statement: "that you cannot". nec here means "not even", like ne … quidem. Result clauses (ut after ita, tam, sic)Adeo es illiteratus Taken as it stands, Gataker's Latin is a plain statement, put as strongly as it can be, and the next sentence answers it with at potes "but you can": grant the worst, and much is still in your power. The Greek says only "reading is not possible (for you)", most likely because Marcus has no leisure for books (compare 2.2, mitte libros); Gataker's illiteratus makes it a want of learning. He spells the word with one t, as he writes litera. atbut potesyou can contumeliacontumēliāfrom insult abstinereabstinēre,to refrain potesyou can voluptatevoluptātethan pleasure etand doloredolōrethan pain superioremsuperiōremsuperior tetēyourself praestarepraestāre,to show potesyou can gloriolamglōriolampetty fame nihilinihilīat nothing facere,to reckon potesyou can stupidisstupidīswith the stupid etand ingratisingrātīswith the ungrateful nonnōnnot succenseresuccēnsēre,to be angry imoimōnay, rather eteven illorumillōrumof them curamcūramcare gerere.to takeBut you can refrain from insult; you can show yourself superior to pleasure and pain; you can count petty fame as nothing; you can keep from being angry with the stupid and the ungrateful, and even take care of them.at potes … potes … potes … potes potes "you can" stands at the head of each clause, and each time it takes an infinitive: abstinere, praestare, facere, succensere, and at the end gerere. The repetition answers nec legere possis: reading may be beyond you, but these things are not. The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement)contumelia abstinere abstinere "to keep away from" takes the ablative of what one keeps from: contumelia "from insult". The Greek word is hybris, insolence; the sense is to refrain from insulting and outraging others. Ablative of separation (a, ab, absque, liber, immunis, alienus)voluptate et dolore superiorem te praestare superiorem is the comparative of superus. The ablatives voluptate et dolore are what you are to be superior to: an ablative of comparison, "higher than pleasure and pain". praestare with an object and a predicate means "to show, keep (someone) so": superiorem te praestare "to show yourself superior". Comparison: comparatives, superlatives, quamgloriolam nihili facere nihili is a genitive of value, "at nothing": nihili facere "to reckon as worth nothing". gloriola is a scornful diminutive of gloria: "a little bit of fame".stupidis et ingratis non succensere succensere "to be angry with" takes the dative: stupidis et ingratis "with the stupid and the ungrateful", adjectives used as nouns. non succensere "not to be angry" is still something you can do: to hold your anger back. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi)imo et illorum curam gerere imo "nay, more than that" corrects what was just said by going further, and et here means "even". curam gerere "to take care" takes a genitive of the person cared for: illorum curam "care of them". Objective genitive (reverentia tui, cura rerum)

Let no one hear you finding fault with life at court, or even with your own life.

NemoNēmō,no one auteither vitamvītamlife aulicam,at court autor tuamyour own etiam,even insimulantemīnsimulantemfinding fault with tetēyou audiat.let him hearLet no one hear you finding fault either with life at court, or even with your own.Nemo … audiat audiat is a jussive subjunctive, a command in the third person: nemo … audiat "let no one hear". Its object is te, held back to the end. Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")insimulantem te With a verb of hearing or seeing, a present participle agreeing with the object says what the person is heard doing: insimulantem te audiat "hear you accusing, hear you find fault with". The two objects of insimulantem come first. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsaut vitam aulicam, aut tuam etiam aut … aut "either … or" sets out the two things not to be blamed; after nemo English may say "either … or" or "neither … nor". tuam agrees with vitam understood: "or even your own (life)". vitam aulicam is life at court (aula), the life Marcus led as emperor. Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…sive

Repentance is self-reproach for having let something useful slip. Every good is useful and a good man cares for it, yet no good man ever regretted passing up a pleasure; so pleasure is neither useful nor good.

Poenitentiarepentance estis suiipsiussuīipsīusof oneself reprehensioreprehēnsiōreproach quaedam,a kind of utas quiquīone who utileūtileuseful aliquidsomething omiseritomīserit.has passed overRepentance is a kind of reproach of oneself, as of one who has passed over something useful.Poenitentia est suiipsius reprehensio quaedam suiipsius is sui ipsius "of oneself" written as one word, as Gataker often joins a pronoun to ipse. It is an objective genitive: the self is what is reproached. quaedam "a certain, a kind of" makes the definition modest: "a sort of self-reproach". poenitentia (classical paenitentia) is the noun of the impersonal verb poenitet "it repents (me)". Objective genitive (reverentia tui, cura rerum)ut qui utile aliquid omiserit ut qui with the subjunctive means "as one who, inasmuch as one": it gives the ground of the reproach. qui refers to the person contained in suiipsius: one blames oneself as a man who has let something useful slip. omiserit is perfect subjunctive, "has passed over". Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui) bonumgood, a good autembut quodqueevery necessarionecessāriōnecessarily etiamalso estis utileūtile;useful quodqueand whatever estis ejusmodiejusmodī,of that kind idthat virovirōto a man bonobonōgood proboqueprobōqueand upright curaecūraea care esseto be oportet.it oughtBut every good is necessarily useful as well; and whatever is of that kind ought to be the concern of a good and upright man.bonum autem quodque … quodque est ejusmodi The two quodque are different words. The first is quisque "each, every" in its adjective form, with bonum: "every good". The second is the relative quod with -que "and": quodque est ejusmodi "and whatever is of that kind", summed up afterwards by id. Indefinite pronouns: aliquis, quis, quisquam, ullus, quisque, quicunqueid viro bono proboque curae esse oportet curae esse "to be a care" is a predicative dative, and viro bono proboque is the person it is a care to: "to be the concern of a good and upright man". id … esse is an accusative and infinitive after the impersonal oportet "it is right, it ought". Dative of reference, possession and advantage atbut neminemnēminemno virumman bonumgood probumqueand upright poenituerit,it would make sorry quodthat voluptatemvoluptātempleasure unquamever ullamūllamany omiseritomīserit.he passed upBut no good and upright man would regret that he had ever passed up any pleasure.neminem virum bonum probumque poenituerit poenitet is impersonal, "it repents": the person who feels regret goes in the accusative (neminem virum bonum probumque "no good and upright man"), and the thing regretted here comes in a quod clause, "that he passed up", instead of the usual genitive. Word for word: "it would repent no good man that…". Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)poenituerit poenituerit could be future perfect indicative or perfect subjunctive. Here it is the perfect subjunctive used as a potential: "no good man would regret". It says what would be so, not what has happened. Potential and deliberative subjunctive in questionsquod voluptatem unquam ullam omiserit omiserit is subjunctive because the reason is given as the regretting man's own thought. unquam ullam "ever … any" is the usual pair after a negative such as neminem. Subjunctive in clauses inside reported speech or thought nequeneither utileūtileuseful, a useful thing itaque,so nequenor bonumgood, a good voluptasvoluptāspleasure est.isSo pleasure is neither useful nor good.neque utile itaque, neque bonum voluptas est utile and bonum are neuter although voluptas is feminine: a neuter adjective in the predicate means "a useful thing, a good". neque … neque "neither … nor"; itaque "and so" draws the conclusion. Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…siveitaque The section is a short syllogism. Repentance is for missing something useful; every good is useful and is a good man's concern; yet no good man repents of missing a pleasure; therefore pleasure is neither useful nor good.

Ask of each thing what it is in itself, what its matter and its form are, what it does in the world, and how long it lasts.

Hocthis (thing) quidnamwhat, exactly inin sesēitself estis exby, according to constitutionecōnstitūtiōneconstitution, make-up suasuā?its ownThis thing: what is it in itself, by its own constitution?Hoc quidnam in se est Hoc "this (thing)" is put first as the topic, and the question follows: "this, what is it?". quidnam is quid strengthened with -nam, which presses the question: "what exactly". in se "in itself", apart from what we think of it. Demonstratives: hic, ille, iste, is, ipse, idemex constitutione sua ex here means "according to, judging by": "by its own constitution", the make-up it has by nature. quaenamwhat illiusillīusits substantiasubstance sivesīveor materiamāteria?matter quaewhat formafōrma?form quidwhat inin mundomundōthe world facit?does it do quamdiuquamdiūhow long consistitcōnsistit?does it lastWhat is its substance or matter? What its form? What does it do in the world? How long does it last?quaenam illius substantia sive materia? quae forma? est is left out in these short questions: quaenam (est) illius substantia "what is its substance", quae (est) forma "what (is its) form". illius "its" refers back to Hoc. Matter and form are the two sides of every thing in Marcus's physics: the stuff it is made of, and what makes it the thing it is (the Greek calls it the causal part). Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodquamdiu consistit consistit here means "holds together, lasts": "how long does it last?". Every thing will one day dissolve.

When you are slow to get up, remember that doing acts that serve the community belongs to your constitution and to human nature, while sleep is shared even with animals; and what suits each creature's nature is the most its own and the most pleasant.

QuandoQuandōwhen somnumsleep gravatimgravātimreluctantly excutis,you shake off reminiscerereminīscere,remember etboth conditioniconditiōnīwith the constitution tuaeyour etand naturaenātūraewith nature humanaehūmānaehuman consentaneumcōnsentāneumin keeping esse,is utthat actionesāctiōnēsactions adto communitatemcommūnitātemthe community conducentescondūcentēsconducing edasēdās,you perform cumwhereas dormiredormīresleeping etiameven brutisbrūtīsdumb animantibusto animals communecommūnecommon sit.isWhen you shake off sleep reluctantly, remember that it is in keeping both with your constitution and with human nature to perform actions that serve the community, whereas sleeping is common even to the dumb animals.Quando somnum gravatim excutis somnum excutere "to shake off sleep" is to rouse oneself, and gravatim is "heavily, reluctantly": "when you are slow to get out of bed". Quando "when(ever)" takes the indicative for something that keeps happening. Book V opens on the same theme (cum gravatim exsurgis, 5.1). Temporal clauses: dum, ubi, quando, quoties, quamdiureminiscere reminiscere is not an infinitive: it is the imperative of the deponent reminiscor "remember", which has passive forms with active meaning. What is to be remembered is the accusative and infinitive consentaneum esse. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningconsentaneum esse, ut actiones ad communitatem conducentes edas The subject of consentaneum esse is the ut clause: "(remember) that it is in keeping … that you perform actions…". conditioni tuae et naturae humanae are datives with consentaneum "in agreement with". edas is from ēdo "put forth, perform", not from edo "eat"; conducentes "conducing to the community" means acts that serve the common good. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)cum dormire etiam brutis animantibus commune sit cum with the subjunctive here sets up a contrast, "whereas". The infinitive dormire is the subject, used as a noun: "sleeping is common". brutis animantibus "to the dumb animals" is dative with commune; brutus means heavy, dull, without reason. Clauses with cum: when, since, although quodwhat autemand estis naturaenātūraewith the nature cujusqueof each creature consentaneumcōnsentāneum,in keeping hocthis etboth familiariusfamiliārius,more its own etand aptius,more fitting etand jucundiusjūcundiusmore pleasant estis utiqueutīque.surelyAnd what is in keeping with each creature's nature is surely more its own, more fitting, and more pleasant.quod … hoc quod "what" has no antecedent before it; hoc "this" picks it up afterwards: "what is in keeping with…, this is…". Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodfamiliarius, et aptius, et jucundius These look like comparative adverbs, but they are neuter comparative adjectives agreeing with hoc, predicates of est: "more its own, more fitting, more pleasant". No second term is given: more so than anything else. familiaris is what belongs to one's household, so "one's own, congenial". Comparison: comparatives, superlatives, quam

With every impression that comes to the mind, ask constantly what its nature is, how it bears on conduct, and how much truth it holds.

AssidueAssiduē,constantly inwith, in the case of omniomnī,every quantumas far as potes,you can visovīsōimpression mentimentīto the mind oblatooblātō,presented consideracōnsīderā,consider quaenamwhat ejusits naturanātūra,nature adtowards, for moresmōrēsconduct, character quidwhat faciat,it does quidwhat inin sesēitself habeatit has veritatisvēritātis.of truthConstantly, as far as you can, with every impression presented to the mind, consider what its nature is, what bearing it has on conduct, and how much truth it holds.in omni, quantum potes, viso menti oblato The phrase wraps round the parenthesis quantum potes "as far as you can": in omni … viso menti oblato "in (the case of) every impression presented to the mind". visum here is the noun, Gataker's word for the Stoic phantasia, the impression a thing makes on the mind; it is not a form of video. oblato is the perfect participle of offero "present", agreeing with viso, and menti is the dative "to the mind". Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsquaenam ejus natura, ad mores quid faciat, quid in se habeat veritatis Three indirect questions after considera, with the subjunctive; in the first, sit is left out: quaenam ejus natura (sit) "what its nature is". ad mores facere is "to bear on conduct, to matter for character". quid … veritatis is a partitive genitive, "what of truth", that is, how much truth. Indirect questionsconsidera The three questions follow the three parts of Stoic philosophy: physics (its nature), ethics (its bearing on conduct) and logic (its truth). The Greek simply names the three studies; Gataker turns them into questions.

When you meet someone, ask yourself at once what he believes about good and bad. If he holds such beliefs about pleasure and pain, fame and disgrace, death and life, his actions will not surprise you, and you will see that he cannot act otherwise.

Ubiwhenever quenquamanyone convenerisconvēneris,you meet statimat once tutūyou tecumtēcum,to yourself Istethis man quaenamwhat habetdoes he hold dedēabout bonisbonīsgood things malisquemalīsqueand bad things decretadēcrēta?doctrinesWhenever you meet anyone, say at once to yourself: What doctrines does this man hold about good and bad?Ubi quenquam conveneris conveneris is future perfect, "when you (shall) have met". Latin uses it for the earlier of two future events, where English uses a present: "whenever you meet". quenquam is Gataker's spelling of quemquam "anyone". The future perfect ("if you will have done…")statim tu tecum A verb of saying is understood: statim tu tecum (dic) "at once (say) to yourself". tecum is te + cum, "with yourself", that is, in your own mind; the question that follows is what you are to say. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodIste quaenam habet de bonis malisque decreta Gataker marks the start of the question you put to yourself with a capital. Iste "this man" (the one before you) is the subject, and quaenam agrees with decreta, held back to the end: "what doctrines does he hold". decreta are a man's settled principles, the beliefs from which he acts. quiquīone who enimfor dedēabout voluptatevoluptātepleasure acand doloredolōre,pain etand efficientibusthe things producing utriusqueutrīusque,of each of the two velor dedēabout famafāmāfame etand ignominiaignōminiā,disgrace mortedeath etand vitavītā,life decretadēcrētadoctrines istiusmodiistīusmodīof that sort habeat,holds sisīif hujusmodihujusmodīthings of this sort feceritfēcerit,he does nihilnothing mihito me mirummīrumstrange novumqueor new videbiturvidēbitur.will seemFor with one who holds doctrines of that sort about pleasure and pain and the things that produce each, or about fame and disgrace, death and life, if he does things of this sort, nothing will seem strange or new to me.qui enim … habeat qui has no antecedent: "one who holds…". The subjunctive habeat makes the clause hypothetical, almost "if a man holds". The man so described is then the subject of fecerit. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)efficientibus utriusque efficientibus is a present participle used as a noun and still governed by de: "(about) the things that produce". utriusque "of each of the two" means pleasure and pain. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsdecreta istiusmodi … si hujusmodi fecerit istiusmodi "of that sort" and hujusmodi "of this sort" are vague on purpose, like English "such-and-such": such beliefs, such deeds. hujusmodi stands as a noun, the object of fecerit: "if he does things of this kind". fecerit is future perfect, matching the future videbitur: "if he does". Conditional sentences (si, nisi, siquis)nihil mihi mirum novumque videbitur videbitur "will seem" has the predicates mirum and novum, and mihi "to me" stands between nihil and them. After nihil, the -que of novumque is best rendered "or": "nothing strange or new". simulat the same time etalso hocthis succurret,will occur (to me) necessarionecessāriōnecessarily faceredoes illumhe quaewhat facit.he doesAt the same time this too will occur to me: that he necessarily does what he does.hoc succurret, necessario facere illum quae facit succurrere "to run to help" also means "to come into one's mind". Its subject hoc is explained by the accusative and infinitive that follows: necessario facere illum "that he necessarily does". quae facit "the things which he does" is the object, with its antecedent (ea) left out. A man acts from his beliefs and, while he holds them, cannot act otherwise. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement)

It is as shameful to be surprised that the world produces what it naturally bears as to be surprised that a fig tree bears figs, or for a doctor to be surprised that a patient has fever, or a helmsman that the wind is against him.

MeminerisMeminerīs,remember aequeaequējust as turpeshameful esseis mirarimīrārīto wonder quenquamanyone tanquamas dedēat, about rerēsomething insuetaīnsuētā,unheard of quodthat eathose things mundus,the world quorumquōrumin which feraxferāxfruitful est,it is profertprōfert;brings forth acas mirarimīrārīto wonder quenquam,anyone quodthat ficusfīcusa fig tree ficusfīcūsfigs ferat,bears autor mirarimīrārīto wonder medicum,for a doctor quodthat quissomeone febricitaveritfebricitāverit,has had a fever gubernatoremgubernātōrem,a helmsman quodthat ventusthe wind adversusagainst him, contrary flaveritflāverit.has blownRemember that it is just as shameful for anyone to wonder, as at something unheard of, that the world brings forth the things it is fruitful in, as for anyone to wonder that a fig tree bears figs, or for a doctor to wonder that someone has had a fever, or a helmsman that the wind has blown against him.Memineris memineris "remember" is the jussive subjunctive of memini, perfect in form and present in meaning. What is to be remembered is the accusative and infinitive turpe esse. Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")aeque turpe esse mirari quenquam … ac mirari quenquam aeque … ac "just as … as" weighs two things that are equally shameful. Each is itself an accusative and infinitive serving as the subject of turpe esse: mirari quenquam "for anyone to wonder", with quenquam the subject of mirari. Further on, medicum and gubernatorem are subjects of mirari in the same way. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement)quod ea mundus, quorum ferax est, profert quod "that, because" gives what one wonders at. ea "those things" is the object of profert and the antecedent of quorum; ferax "fruitful" takes a genitive: "the things it is fruitful in", what the world bears by nature. Causal clauses: quod, quia, siquidem, cum, quippequod ficus ficus ferat The same word twice, in two cases. The first ficus is nominative singular, "a fig tree", the subject; the second is accusative plural of the 4th declension (fīcūs), "figs", the object. Latin ficus means both the tree and its fruit.ferat … febricitaverit … flaverit After the indicative profert, the quod clauses turn to the subjunctive: the fact is now given as the wonderer's reason, what he finds surprising. febricitaverit and flaverit are perfect subjunctives, "has had a fever", "has blown". Subjunctive in clauses inside reported speech or thoughtquod quis febricitaverit quis after quod is the indefinite "someone", as after si, ne and num; Gataker uses it more freely than classical writers. Indefinite pronouns: aliquis, quis, quisquam, ullus, quisque, quicunquegubernatorem, quod ventus adversus flaverit aut mirari is understood again: "or (for) a helmsman (to wonder)". adversus here is not the preposition but the adjective agreeing with ventus: "the wind against him, a contrary wind". Words left out: esse, sum and others understood

Changing your opinion and following the one who corrects you is as much an act of your freedom as persisting in what you have begun, for it too is done by your own impulse and judgement.

MeminerisMeminerīs,remember aequeaequējust as tibifor you liberumlīberumfree esseis sententiamyour opinion mutaremūtāreto change etand corrigenticorrigentīthe one who corrects parerepārēre,to obey atqueas inin rerēanything ceptaceptābegun ullaūllāany persistere.to persistRemember that you are just as free to change your opinion and to obey the one who corrects you, as to persist in anything you have begun.aeque tibi liberum esse … atque … persistere tibi liberum esse "to be free for you", that is, to lie within your freedom. Its subjects are the infinitives mutare, parere and persistere, used as nouns; aeque … atque "just as … as" weighs the first two against the third. The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement)corrigenti parere corrigenti is a present participle used as a noun, "the one correcting (you)", in the dative because parere "to obey" takes the dative. Do not confuse pārēre "obey" with parere "give birth", which is spelled the same. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi)in re cepta ulla cepta, Gataker's spelling of coepta, is the perfect participle of coepi "begin": "in any thing begun", any undertaking. ulla "any" is held back to the end. etenimfor etalso haecthis tuayour own estis operatiooperātiō,activity utpoteinasmuch as quaeit juxtajuxtāaccording to intentionemintentiōnemintention judiciumquejūdiciumqueand judgement tuum,your atqueand adeoadeōindeed exaccording to animianimīof the mind etiameven tuituīyour own sententiasententiājudgement perficiaturperficiātur.it is carried outFor this too is your own activity, inasmuch as it is carried out according to your intention and judgement, and indeed according to the judgement of your own mind.et haec tua est operatio haec "this" is feminine to agree with operatio: "this (changing of mind) too is your own activity". Yielding to correction is still your own act, done by your own judgement, and so no loss of freedom. Demonstratives: hic, ille, iste, is, ipse, idemutpote quae … perficiatur utpote quae with the subjunctive gives a reason, "inasmuch as it": the relative refers to operatio. perficiatur "is carried out". Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)atque adeo ex animi etiam tui sententia atque adeo "and indeed, and what is more": adeo here heightens what goes before, unlike the "so (… that)" of 8.8. ex animi sententia is an old phrase, "in accordance with one's own mind", here made emphatic with tui. intentio stands for the Greek hormē, the impulse to act.

If a thing is in your power, why do it? If in another's, whom do you blame, atoms or gods? Either is madness. Blame no one: set the thing right if you can; if not, complaining does no good, and nothing should be done in vain.

SiSīif tuituīyour own istudthat estis arbitriiarbitriī,of choice, in the power curcūrwhy facis?do you do (it)If this is in your own power, why do you do it?Si tui istud est arbitrii tui … arbitrii is a predicate genitive, "of your own choice": the thing belongs to your will, that is, it lies in your power. tui is the adjective tuus, split from arbitrii by istud est. istud is whatever you find fault with: if it is up to you, you need not do it. Genitive of characteristic: "it belongs to…, it is the mark of…" sinsīnbut if alteriusalterīus,another's quemwhom incusasincūsās?do you blame atomosatomōs,the atoms anor DeosDeōs?the gods insaniīnsānīof a madman utrumqueeither est.isBut if it is in another's, whom do you blame? The atoms, or the gods? Either is the mark of a madman.sin alterius sin "but if" answers si; supply arbitrii est: "but if (it is in) another's (power)". alterius is the genitive of alter. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodatomos, an Deos? The accusatives depend on incusas, understood again: "(do you blame) the atoms, or the gods?". an "or" joins the two halves of a direct question. These are the two accounts of the world that Marcus keeps setting side by side: chance atoms, as Epicurus taught, or the providence of the gods. atomus is a feminine Greek word, hence atomos. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodinsani utrumque est insani is a predicate genitive, "(the part) of a madman": "either is a madman's act". utrumque "each of the two" is the subject. Atoms cannot help what they do, and the gods do nothing wrong, so to blame either is senseless. Genitive of characteristic: "it belongs to…, it is the mark of…" neminemnēminemno one igiturso estis incusandumincūsandum.(there is) to be blamingSo no one is to be blamed.neminem igitur est incusandum The gerundive with esse says what must or must not be done. Here it stands in the neuter, used impersonally, and keeps an object as the active verb would: neminem est incusandum "there is to be no blaming of anyone", that is, "no one is to be blamed". The usual way is personal, nemo est incusandus, with the person as subject; the impersonal gerundive with an accusative object is found in early Latin and in Lucretius, but it is rare. Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt) siquidemsīquidemif indeed enimfor potes,you can remthe thing ipsamitself corrige.set rightFor if you can, set the thing itself right.siquidem enim potes siquidem is often "since", but here it is si quidem "if indeed", written as one word as Gataker writes it: it pairs with sin minus "but if not" in the next sentence. The Greek has three steps (correct the person; failing that, the thing itself; failing that, why blame?); Gataker's Latin keeps only the thing. Conditional sentences (si, nisi, siquis) sinsīnbut if minus,not quidwhat good tibito you queriquerīcomplaining profueritprōfuerit?would it do goodIf not, what good would complaining do you?quid tibi queri profuerit queri "to complain" is a deponent infinitive used as a noun, the subject of profuerit; quid "in what way, what good" is an adverbial accusative, and tibi the dative with prodesse "be of use to". profuerit is best taken as a potential perfect subjunctive, "what good would it do?"; read as a future perfect it means much the same, "what good will it have done?". Potential and deliberative subjunctive in questions nihilnothing autemand estis agendumto be done frustrafrūstrā.in vainAnd nothing should be done in vain.nihil autem est agendum frustra Again the gerundive of obligation: "nothing is to be done in vain". Every act should have an aim; complaining has none. Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt)

What dies does not leave the world: it stays here, changes, and is dissolved into the elements of which both the world and you are made; and they change without grumbling.

Nihil,nothing quodthat moritur,dies mundomundōout of the world excidit.fallsNothing that dies falls out of the world.mundo excidit mundo is an ablative of separation with excidit "falls out (of)". excidit is from excĭdo (ex + cado "fall"), not excīdo "cut out". Nothing is lost to the world; what dies only changes its form within it. Ablative of separation (a, ab, absque, liber, immunis, alienus) isticistīchere autembut sisīif manetit stays acand mutatmūtat,changes isticistīchere ettoo ininto sua,its own quaewhich etboth mundimundīof the world etand tuituīof you eademthe same sunt,are elementaelements resolvitur.it is dissolvedBut if it stays here and changes, here too it is dissolved into its own elements, which are the same as those of the world and of you.istic autem si manet ac mutat istic "there, here" means in the world, where the dead thing remains. si comes after istic autem to stress the place: "but if it stays here and changes". mutat is intransitive, "changes, undergoes change", though muto usually takes an object; so too mutant in the next sentence. Conditional sentences (si, nisi, siquis)istic et … resolvitur The second istic, with et "too", answers the first: it stays here, and here too it is dissolved. resolvitur "is resolved, broken up" into the parts it was made of.in sua, quae et mundi et tui eadem sunt, elementa sua … elementa "its own elements" wraps round the relative clause. quae refers to the elements; mundi and tui (here the genitive of tu) go with eadem: "which are the same (elements) of the world and of you", the stuff that makes up both. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod atqueand haecthese quoquetoo mutantmūtant,change necand not murmurantthey grumble tamen.yetAnd these too change, and yet they do not grumble.nec murmurant tamen nec … tamen "and yet … not". haec "these" are the elements: they are changing all the time and do not grumble, so neither should you, who are made of them.

Everything, a horse, a vine, the sun and the gods, exists for some work. What then were you made for? Surely not for pleasure; ask whether common sense would allow that.

Adfor opuswork aliquodsome natumnātumborn esthas been unumquodqueūnumquodque;each thing puta,for instance equus,a horse vitisvītis.a vineEach thing has been born for some work: a horse, for instance, a vine.Ad opus aliquod natum est unumquodque natum est is the perfect of the deponent nascor "be born", neuter to agree with unumquodque "each single thing": "each thing has been born". ad opus aliquod "for some work": ad with the accusative gives the purpose. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningputa, equus, vitis puta "suppose, say" is an imperative used as an adverb, "for instance". equus and vitis are examples of unumquodque, in apposition to it. quidwhy mirarismīrāris?are you surprised solsōlthe sun etiamtoo ipse,itself DiiqueDiīqueand the gods reliquireliquīother adfor opuswork aliquodsome extitereextitēre.came into beingWhy are you surprised? The sun itself too, and the other gods, came into being for some work.quid miraris? miraris is the deponent miror "wonder, be surprised", 2nd person singular. quid here is "why": the question heads off a protest at being told to work. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningsol etiam ipse, Diique reliqui reliqui "the rest of, the other": "the other gods". The sun is counted among the gods, since the Stoics held the heavenly bodies to be divine. In the Greek the Sun himself speaks ("the Sun will say: I came to be for some work"); Gataker's Latin makes it a plain statement.extitere extitere is the short form of extiterunt, "came into being", from existo. The ending -ere with a perfect stem is a perfect, not an infinitive. Perfect stems and short forms (norim, posuere) tutūyou ergoergōthen adfor quid?what nunquidsurely … not? adto, for oblectandumpleasing tetē?yourselfAnd you, then: for what? Surely not to please yourself?tu ergo ad quid? Supply natus es: "and you, then, (were you born) for what?". Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodnunquid ad oblectandum te? nunquid opens a question expecting the answer no: "surely not…?". oblectandum is a gerund in the accusative after ad, giving the purpose, and it takes te as its object: "for delighting yourself", that is, for pleasure. The same question is asked in 5.1: nunquid ergo ad oblectandum te natus es? The gerund (agendo, laedendi) cogitacōgitāconsider tecumtēcumwith yourself anwhether sensussēnsussense communiscommūniscommon idthat ferat.allowsConsider with yourself whether common sense allows that.an sensus communis id ferat an here introduces an indirect question, "whether", so ferat is subjunctive; ferre is "to bear, put up with, allow". sensus communis renders the Greek ennoia, the notion all men share of what a human being is for. Indirect questions

Nature has an eye to each thing's end as much as to its beginning and its duration, like a man throwing a ball. Rising is no good to the ball and falling no harm; the same holds for a bubble and a lamp.

NaturaNātūraNature reireīof the thing cujusqueeach rationemratiōnemaccount habet;takes tamas much finemfīnem,its end quamas ortumits beginning etand durationemdūrātiōnem,its duration quodas for what attinet:concerns quemadmodumjust as etalso ishe quiquīwho pilama ball mittit,throws pilaeof the ball pariterequally rationemratiōnemaccount habet.takesNature takes account of each thing, as regards its end as much as its beginning and its duration: just as he who throws a ball takes equal account of the ball.rei cujusque rationem habet rationem habere with a genitive is an idiom: "to take account of, have regard for". So Natura rei cujusque rationem habet "Nature takes account of each thing", and below pilae rationem habet "takes account of the ball".tam finem, quam ortum et durationem, quod attinet tam … quam "as much … as". quod attinet "as far as concerns, as regards" is usually followed by ad; here Gataker sets the accusatives before it with no ad: "as regards its end as much as its beginning and its duration". Nature plans a thing's ending as surely as its coming to be. Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…sivequemadmodum et is qui pilam mittit quemadmodum "just as" brings in the comparison, and et is "also". The thrower aims the ball's coming down as much as its going up. Gataker's edition of 1652 misprints mittit as mitti; the London edition of 1704 corrects it. ecquidis there anything autemand pilae,for the ball veleither sursumup missaethrown bonibonī,of good velor descendentidēscendentīcoming down cadentiquecadentīqueand falling malimalī?of harmAnd is there any good for the ball when it is thrown up, or any harm when it comes down and falls?ecquid … boni … mali ecquid "is there anything?" asks a question that expects the answer "no". With est understood it takes partitive genitives: ecquid … boni "anything of good", and with ecquid understood again, mali "(anything) of harm". Partitive genitive (aliquid boni, nihil…)pilae, vel sursum missae boni, vel descendenti cadentique pilae is dative, "for the ball", and the participles agree with it: missae (perfect passive, "having been thrown") and descendenti cadentique (present, "coming down and falling"). The ball is no better off going up and no worse off coming down; so it is with us in life and in death. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nouns ecquidis there anything etalso bullaefor a bubble veleither consistenticōnsistentīholding together bonibonī,of good velor subsidentisubsīdentīcollapsing malimalī?of harmAnd is there any good for a bubble while it holds together, or harm when it collapses?bullae vel consistenti boni, vel subsidenti mali The same pattern as before: bullae is dative, "for a bubble", with the present participles consistenti "standing, holding together" and subsidenti "settling, sinking down", that is, bursting. et here is "also". Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nouns dedēof, about lucernalucernāthe lamp idemthe same dictumsaid sit.let it beLet the same be said of the lamp.idem dictum sit dictum sit is the perfect passive subjunctive, used as a jussive: "let the same be (taken as) said". A lamp too is none the better for being lit and none the worse for going out. The Greek has only "and the same with a lamp". Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")

Look at the body from the inside, and at what it becomes in old age, in sickness and at death. Praiser and praised, rememberer and remembered, all live briefly, in a corner of one region where no one agrees even with himself; and the whole earth is only a point.

Inverteturn inside out corpusbody tuum,your atqueand inspiceīnspice,look at qualequālewhat sort of thing sit,it is ubiwhen senuerit;it has grown old qualequālewhat sort of thing sit,it is ubiwhen morbidumsick fuerit;it has been qualequālewhat sort of thing sit,it is spiritumspīritumits breath ubiwhen efflaveritefflāverit.it has breathed outTurn your body inside out, and look at what it is like when it has grown old; what it is like when it has been sick; what it is like when it has breathed out its breath.Inverte corpus tuum 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. Commands: imperative, memento, ne with the perfect subjunctivequale sit, ubi senuerit quale sit "what sort of thing it is" is an indirect question after inspice, so sit is subjunctive; quale is neuter because the understood subject is corpus. The question is asked three times, each time with its own ubi "when" clause: old age, sickness, death. Indirect questionsubi senuerit … ubi morbidum fuerit … spiritum ubi efflaverit The ubi clauses stand inside the indirect question, so their verbs are subjunctive too, perfect subjunctive: "when it has grown old". (The future perfect has the same form, "when it shall have grown old", and the sense hardly differs.) In the last one spiritum "its breath" is put before ubi; to breathe out one's breath is to die. Subjunctive in clauses inside reported speech or thought brevisshort autemand, moreover estis vitaevītaeof life etboth quiquīhe who celebrat,praises etand quiquīhe who celebraturcelebrātur;is praised etand quiquīhe who commemoratremembers pariter,likewise etand quiquīhe who commemoraturcommemorātur.is rememberedAnd both he who praises and he who is praised are of short life; and likewise he who remembers and he who is remembered.brevis autem est vitae brevis … vitae is a genitive of description used as the predicate: "(he) is of short life", that is, short-lived. brevis is genitive singular here, agreeing with vitae, though it looks like a nominative. The subjects come after the verb. Genitive of characteristic: "it belongs to…, it is the mark of…"et qui celebrat, et qui celebratur Each subject is a qui clause whose antecedent is left out: qui celebrat "he who praises", qui celebratur "he who is praised". Active and passive of one verb stand side by side, joined by et … et "both … and"; the second pair, remembering and being remembered, is built the same way. One est serves all four. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod adhaecbesides ettoo inin plagaeof region istiusistīusthis (of yours) anguloangulōa corner duntaxatonly idthis geritur;goes on, is carried on ubiwhere etiammoreover nequeneither omnesomnēsall (men) interamong sesēthemselves consentiuntcōnsentiunt,agree nequenor quisquamanyone sibi.with himselfBesides, this too goes on only in a corner of this region of yours; where, moreover, neither do all agree with one another, nor does anyone agree with himself.adhaec adhaec is ad haec "in addition to these things" written as one word, a set phrase for "besides, moreover". id geritur "it is carried on" sums up the praising and remembering of the last sentence.in plagae istius angulo This plaga has a short a: "a region, a zone of the earth". It is a different word from plāga "a blow". iste often means "that of yours": the region where you live. So fame is short in time and narrow in place, kept up in one corner of one region. Demonstratives: hic, ille, iste, is, ipse, idemneque omnes inter se consentiunt, neque quisquam sibi inter se "among themselves" means "with one another". In the second half consentit is understood: "nor does anyone (agree) with himself". Those who praise do not agree with one another, and none of them is even consistent with himself. Words left out: esse, sum and others understood deniquedēniquein short, finally terraearth omnisthe whole punctipunctīof a point instarīnstarthe likeness habet.it hasIn short, the whole earth is no more than a point.terra omnis puncti instar habet instar "the likeness, the measure" is an indeclinable noun that takes a genitive: puncti instar habet "has the measure of a point", so the whole earth is a mere point in the universe. Marcus said the same in 4.3, terra tota puncti instar habet. In the singular omnis can mean "the whole": terra omnis "all the earth".

Attend to what is in front of you, whether a judgement, a deed or a word. You deserve your troubles, since you would rather become good tomorrow than be good today.

Animumyour mind adverteturn praesentipraesentīpresent veleither decretodēcrētō,judgement velor factofactō,deed velor dictodictō.wordTurn your mind to the present judgement, or deed, or word.Animum adverte praesenti vel decreto, vel facto, vel dicto animum advertere "to turn the mind to" (often run together as animadvertere) takes the dative here, as in 6.20: praesenti … decreto "to the present judgement". praesenti goes with each of the three nouns in turn: whatever is in hand, a decretum (a principle or judgement of the mind), a deed or a word. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi) meritomeritōdeservedly haecthese things pateris,you suffer quiquīyou who bonusgood mavismāvīsyou prefer crascrāstomorrow fierifierī,to become quamrather than esseto be hodiehodiē.todayYou suffer these things deservedly, you who would rather become good tomorrow than be good today.merito haec pateris merito "deservedly" is an old ablative of meritum "desert", used as an adverb. haec "these things" are whatever troubles you now: you have earned them by putting off the work. pateris is from the deponent patior "suffer". Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningqui bonus mavis cras fieri, quam esse hodie qui "you who" refers back to the "you" in pateris and gives the reason: "since you would rather …". mavis is from malo "prefer" (magis volo "want more"), and quam "than" answers it: "you prefer to become good tomorrow than to be good today". bonus is nominative because it describes the subject of mavis: after verbs like volo and malo, a predicate with esse or fieri stays in the nominative. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod

Whatever I do, I refer to the good of men; whatever befalls me, I accept by referring it to the gods and to the source of all things, from which everything flows in its appointed order.

FacioFaciōam I doing quicquam?anything itain such a way faciofaciō,I do (it) utthat adto homineshominēsmen juvandosjuvandōsto be helped referam.I refer (it)Am I doing anything? I do it in such a way that I refer it to the helping of men.Facio quicquam? ita facio Marcus puts the case as a question and answers it: "Am I doing anything? I do it so …". A question used like this does the work of an "if" clause: "if I do anything". quisquam "anyone, anything" is used in questions as well as after negatives.ita facio, ut ad homines juvandos referam ita … ut "in such a way that" takes the subjunctive referam: "I do it so as to refer it". ad homines juvandos is a gerundive phrase, literally "to men to be helped", in English "to the helping of men", to the good of others. referre ad "to refer to, direct towards": every act is aimed at that end. The gerundive with ad, in and the genitive contingitdoes (anything) happen mihito me quicquam?anything itain such a way excipioexcipiō,I take (it) utthat adto DeosDeōsthe gods referam,I refer (it) fontemqueand the source rerumrērumof things omnium,all aāfrom quoquō,which quaecunquewhatever things fiuntfīunt,happen ordineōrdinein an order praestitutopraestitūtōfixed beforehand derivanturdērīvantur.flow down, are derivedDoes anything happen to me? I take it in such a way that I refer it to the gods and to the source of all things, from which whatever happens flows down in an order fixed beforehand.contingit mihi quicquam? ita excipio The second case: what happens to me, as against what I do. contingere with the dative is "to happen to, befall". excipere is "to receive, take up": I take each event as coming from the gods. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi)a quo, quaecunque fiunt, ordine praestituto derivantur a quo "from which" refers to fontem, which is masculine. The subject of derivantur is the clause quaecunque fiunt "whatever things happen". derivare is properly to draw water off from a stream (rivus), so it suits the image of a spring: all events flow from one source, ordine praestituto "in an order fixed beforehand", an ablative of manner. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod

Bathing, looked at closely, is oil, sweat, dirt, water and scrapings, all of it disgusting; and every part of life, and all the matter that things are made of, is like that.

Ipsumitself lavarilavārībathing, to bathe qualequālewhat sort of quidthing tibito you videturvidētur?does it seemBathing itself: what sort of thing does it seem to you?Ipsum lavari An infinitive can be used as a neuter noun: lavari "to bathe, bathing" is the subject of videtur, and ipsum "itself" is neuter to agree with it. lavari, the passive of lavo "wash", has a reflexive sense, "to wash oneself, take a bath". The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement)quale quid quale quid "what sort of thing": quid "what" is the thing, quale "of what kind" describes it. Together they are the predicate with videtur: "what sort of thing does it seem to you?" oleum,oil sudorsūdor,sweat sordessordēs,dirt aqua,water strigmentum;scrapings putidapūtidadisgusting omnia.all of itOil, sweat, dirt, water, scrapings: all of it disgusting.oleum, sudor, sordes, aqua, strigmentum A Roman bath, item by item. The bather was rubbed with oil and sweated in the hot room; then the oil, sweat and dirt were scraped off the skin with a strigilis, a curved metal scraper, and that greasy scraping is the strigmentum. There was water to wash in. A pleasure, taken apart, is made of things no one would want to touch.putida omnia sunt is left out: "all (are) disgusting". omnia "all things" is a neuter plural used as a noun, and putida "rotten, stinking, disgusting" agrees with it. Words left out: esse, sum and others understood taletālesuch quiddama thing estis etboth vitaevītaeof life parspart quaevisquaevīs,any … you like etand materiamāteriamatter subjectaunderlying quaelibet.any … whateverSuch a thing is every part of life, and every bit of the underlying matter.et vitae pars quaevis, et materia subjecta quaelibet quivis and quilibet both mean "any you please", so "any … whatever, every": "any part of life whatever, any underlying matter whatever". materia subjecta "the matter laid under" is the Stoic term for the stuff all things are made of. One est serves both subjects. Indefinite pronouns: aliquis, quis, quisquam, ullus, quisque, quicunque

Each who buries the dead soon follows: Lucilla buried Verus and then died, and so did Secunda, Epitynchanus, Antoninus and Celer. The clever, the far-seeing and the proud are long gone, some unremembered, some turned to legend, some lost even from legend; so remember that you too will be scattered, or your breath put out, or moved elsewhere.

LucillaLūcillaLucilla VerumVērumVerus extulit;carried out (to burial) moxsoon ettoo LucillaLūcillaLucilla ipsaherself elataēlātacarried out est.wasLucilla buried Verus; soon Lucilla herself was buried too.Lucilla Verum extulit efferre "to carry out" is the word for carrying the dead out of the house to burial, as in 4.48 and 4.50. Its parts are irregular, effero, efferre, extuli, elatum, so extulit is "carried out, buried" and elata est "was carried out, was buried". Every pair in this section follows the pattern: X buried Y, and soon X too was buried. Perfect stems and short forms (norim, posuere)Lucilla Verum Lucilla is Domitia Lucilla, Marcus's mother, and Verus his father, M. Annius Verus, who died about 124, when Marcus was three; his widow outlived him by some thirty years. (Marcus's daughter Lucilla, widow of the emperor Lucius Verus, outlived her father, so she cannot be meant.) Verum is the name here, not the adjective verus "true". SecundaSecunda MaximumMāximum;Maximus moxsoon ettoo Secunda.SecundaSecunda buried Maximus; soon Secunda too.Secunda Maximum; mox et Secunda From here on the verbs are left out, since the pattern is set: "(buried) Maximus; soon Secunda too (was buried)". Maximus is Claudius Maximus, the Stoic teacher Marcus thanks in 1.15; Secunda was probably his wife. Words left out: esse, sum and others understood EpitynchanusEpitynchanus DiotimumDiotīmum;Diotimus moxsoon ettoo Epitynchanus.EpitynchanusEpitynchanus buried Diotimus; soon Epitynchanus too.Epitynchanus Diotimum Two men otherwise unknown, perhaps of the imperial household; a Diotimus appears again in 8.37 among Hadrian's favourites. The point needs no identities: whoever they were, the one who buried soon followed the one buried. AntoninusAntōnīnusAntoninus FaustinamFaustīnam;Faustina moxsoon ettoo AntoninusAntōnīnus.AntoninusAntoninus buried Faustina; soon Antoninus too.Antoninus Faustinam Antoninus Pius, Marcus's adoptive father, buried his wife Faustina the Elder in 140, and died himself in 161. Their daughter, Faustina the Younger, was Marcus's wife. CelerCeler HadrianumHadriānum;Hadrian moxsoon ettoo Celer.CelerCeler buried Hadrian; soon Celer too.Celer Hadrianum Caninius Celer, a teacher of rhetoric, was Hadrian's secretary for Greek letters and one of Marcus's own tutors; he outlived Hadrian, who died in 138. As an adjective celer means "swift", but here it is a name. hujusmodihujusmodīof this kind suntare omnia.all thingsAll things are of this kind.hujusmodi sunt omnia hujusmodi = hujus modi "of this kind", an indeclinable genitive of description used as the predicate: "all things are of this kind", each carried out in its turn. Genitive of characteristic: "it belongs to…, it is the mark of…" quinquīnwhat is more eteven solertessolertēsclever (men) illiillī,those (famous) auteither futurorumfutūrōrumof things to come praesciipraesciī,foreknowing autor fastufastūwith pride inflatiīnflātī,puffed up ubinamwhere, pray jamnow sunt?are (they)What is more, those clever men, whether foreseeing the future or puffed up with pride: where are they now?quin et solertes illi quin et "and what is more" raises the stakes: not only private people but the famous. illi "those" points to men well known in their day, as ille often does. solers "clever, sharp-witted" is Gataker's spelling of sollers; the adjective is used as a noun, "those clever men". Demonstratives: hic, ille, iste, is, ipse, idemaut futurorum praescii, aut fastu inflati Two more kinds: those who foresaw the future, such as seers and astrologers, and those puffed up with pride. praescius "knowing beforehand" takes a genitive, futurorum "of things to come", which is the future participle of esse used as a noun. fastu "with pride" is an ablative of cause: puffed up by it. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsubinam jam sunt? ubinam is a stronger ubi: "where, pray, are they now?" The answer comes in the next sentence. solertessolertēs,the clever inquam,I say qualesquālēssuch as Charax,Charax DemetriusDēmētriusDemetrius PlatonicusPlatōnicus,the Platonist EudaemonEudaemōn,Eudaemon etand sisīif quisanyone aliuselse ejusmodiejusmodī.of that kind omniaall of it caducacadūcaperishable sunt,are etand jamalready olimōlimlong ago mortein death sepultaburied sunt.have beenThe clever, I say, such as Charax, Demetrius the Platonist, Eudaemon, and anyone else of that kind. It is all perishable, and long since buried in death.solertes, inquam, quales Charax, Demetrius Platonicus, Eudaemon inquam "I say" marks the restart after the question: "the clever ones, I mean, such as …". The three were men of sharp wit whom we know little about: Charax perhaps the historian Claudius Charax of Pergamum, Demetrius a philosopher of Plato's school (Platonicus "the Platonist"), Eudaemon perhaps a one-time confidant of Hadrian.et si quis alius ejusmodi si quis "if anyone", here "and anyone else": after si, quis means "anyone", not "who?". ejusmodi "of that kind" (= ejus modi) turns the three names into examples of a type, as hujusmodi did in 4.50. Indefinite pronouns: aliquis, quis, quisquam, ullus, quisque, quicunqueomnia caduca sunt, et jam olim morte sepulta sunt The list breaks off and Marcus starts again: he does not finish "the clever ones … where are they?" but answers with a general truth. omnia is neuter, "everything", so the men and their cleverness are lumped together with things: "it is all perishable, and long since buried in death". jam olim "long since". Neuter plurals and adjectives used as nouns (bona, mala, omnia) aliialiīsome necnot even brevema brief suisuīof themselves memoriammemory sunt(have) consecuticōnsecūtī;won, attained aliialiīothers ininto fabulasfābulāslegends abieruntabiērunt;have passed aliialiīothers etiameven eēfrom fabulisfābulīsthe legends evanueruntēvānuērunt.have vanishedSome did not win even a brief memory of themselves; others have passed into legends; others have vanished even from the legends.alii … alii … alii alii … alii … alii "some … others … others": three fates of the dead, each worse than the last. nec here means "not even" (= ne … quidem): some did not win even a short memory of themselves. sui "of themselves" is the genitive of the reflexive, depending on memoriam. Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…sivesunt consecuti consequor "follow up, attain" is deponent, so its perfect is passive in form and active in meaning: consecuti sunt "they have attained". Gataker puts sunt first. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningin fabulas abierunt abire in + accusative is "to go off into, turn into": they became mere stories. Then even the stories are forgotten: e fabulis evanuerunt "they have vanished from the stories". Compare 4.33, where all things soon become like tales and are then buried in oblivion. horumhōrumthese things ergoergōthen, therefore memineris,remember auteither compagemcompāgemthe structure tuituīof you dissipatumdissipātumto scatter iriīrī,(there is) a going autor extinctumextīnctumto put out spiritumspīritum,the breath autor migraturummigrātūrum,about to move on atqueand alibialibīelsewhere iriīrī(there is) a going dispositum.to settleRemember these things, then: that either the structure of you will be scattered, or the breath will be put out, or it will move on and be settled elsewhere.horum ergo memineris memineris is the perfect subjunctive of memini "remember" (perfect in form, present in meaning), used as a mild command: "you should remember". memini takes the genitive, horum "these things", the examples just given; then an accusative and infinitive says what to draw from them. Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")compagem tui dissipatum iri A future passive infinitive: the supine dissipatum with iri, the passive infinitive of eo "go", used impersonally. Literally "that there is a going to scatter the structure of you", that is, "that the structure of you will be scattered". The supine never changes its ending, so dissipatum does not agree with the feminine compagem, which is its object. tui is the genitive of tu: "the structure of you", the compound that makes up your body. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement)extinctum spiritum, aut migraturum, atque alibi iri dispositum The same construction goes on: extinctum (iri) spiritum "that the breath will be put out", with iri understood, and alibi iri dispositum "that it will be settled elsewhere", where iri is written out again. Between them stands a future active infinitive, migraturum (esse) "that it will move on", agreeing with spiritum. extinctum is Gataker's spelling of exstinctum. These are the three outcomes of death that Marcus often weighs: the self scattered, put out like a flame, or moved elsewhere. Words left out: esse, sum and others understood

A man's pleasure is to do what is proper to man: to be kind to his fellows, to look down on the stirrings of the senses, to test plausible impressions, and to contemplate the nature of the whole and what comes about by it.

HominiHominīfor a man volupea pleasure est,it is quaethe things which hoministo man propriaproper sunt,are facere.to doIt is a pleasure for a man to do the things that are proper to man.Homini volupe est … facere volupe (also volup) is an old word, "agreeably, to one's liking", used with esse: volupe est "it is a pleasure". The subject is the infinitive facere, and the dative Homini says whose pleasure it is: "it is a pleasure for a man to do …". The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement)quae hominis propria sunt The relative clause has no antecedent: "(those things) which are proper to man" is the object of facere. proprius "one's own, peculiar to" takes the genitive: hominis propria "proper to man". Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod propriumproper autemand, now estit is hominis,to man contribulicontribūlīto his fellow suosuōhis own benevolumwell-disposed esse,to be sensuumsēnsuumof the senses motusmōtūsstirrings insuperīnsuperabove, beneath notice haberehabēre,to hold visavīsaimpressions probabiliaprobābiliaplausible discernere,to sift, tell apart universiūniversīof the universe naturamnātūram,the nature eaqueand those things quaewhich secundumin accordance with hancit fiuntfīunt,come about contemplaricontemplārī.to contemplateAnd it is proper to man to be kind to his fellow, to look down on the stirrings of the senses, to sift plausible impressions, and to contemplate the nature of the universe and the things that happen in accordance with it.proprium autem est hominis The things proper to man are four infinitives, used as nouns and subjects of est: esse, habere, discernere, contemplari. That is why the predicate proprium is neuter singular, as an adjective said of an infinitive always is. The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement)contribuli suo benevolum esse benevolus "well-wishing, kindly" takes the dative, contribuli suo "to his fellow". A contribulis is properly a member of one's own tribe; Gataker uses it for one of the same kind, a fellow man. benevolum is accusative because the subject of esse is understood, "(for a man) to be kind", and the subject of an infinitive is accusative.sensuum motus insuper habere insuper habere "to hold above", that is, beneath one's notice, is an idiom for "to disregard, look down on". The stirrings of the senses, pleasure and pain among them, are to be overlooked by the mind, not obeyed. motus is accusative plural of the 4th declension.visa probabilia discernere visa are impressions, what the mind is shown (the Stoic phantasiai). Some are probabilia "plausible, convincing", and the task is to discernere "sift" them: to tell which deserve assent before giving it.universi naturam, eaque quae secundum hanc fiunt universi "of the whole" is the neuter adjective used as a noun, "the universe". eaque quae "and those things which": ea is the antecedent of quae, and -que joins it to naturam. secundum hanc "in accordance with it", with hanc referring to naturam. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod

Everyone stands in three relations: to the cause that surrounds him, to the divine cause from which all things come to all, and to the people he lives among.

AffectionesAffectiōnēsrelations singulisingulīeach quiquequīqueand every one trestrēsthree habent;have unamūnam,one adto, towards caussamthe cause ambientem,surrounding alteram,the second adto caussamthe cause divinamdīvīnam,divine aāfrom quaquāwhich proveniuntprōveniuntcome omnibusto all omnia;all things tertiam,the third adto eoseōsthose quibuscumwith whom inin hachācthis vitavītālife versaturversātur.he livesEach and every one of us has three relations: one to the surrounding cause; the second to the divine cause, from which all things come to all; the third to those with whom he lives in this life.Affectiones singuli quique tres habent affectio here is not "affection" but a relation, how one stands towards something (the Greek word is schesis). singuli quique "each and every one" is plural, but at the end of the sentence the verb is singular, versatur "he lives": Marcus is thinking of each person in turn. Affectiones is put first as the topic; tres agrees with it. Indefinite pronouns: aliquis, quis, quisquam, ullus, quisque, quicunqueunam … alteram … tertiam affectionem is understood with each: "one (relation) … the second … the third". alter counts "the second" in a series as well as "the other" of two. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodad caussam ambientem ambiens, the present participle of ambio "go round, surround", describes the cause that is around us: most probably the body, the vessel that encloses the self. The divine cause is the source from which proveniunt omnibus omnia "all things come to all"; omnibus is dative, "to everyone". caussam is Gataker's spelling of causam. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsin hac vita versatur versari cum "to live with, spend one's time with", here with the relative, quibuscum "with whom". in hac vita "in this life".

Pain is an evil either to the body, which may speak for itself, or to the soul; but the soul can keep its calm and refuse to think pain an evil, since judgement, impulse, desire and aversion are all within, where no evil can climb.

Dolorpain auteither estis corporicorporīto the body malum.an evil quodand sisīif sit,it should be corpusthe body idit, so censeatcēnseat.let (it) judge autor animae.to the soulPain is either an evil to the body (and if it is, let the body judge so) or to the soul.Dolor aut est corpori malum … aut animae aut … aut "either … or" frames the sentence: pain is an evil corpori "to the body" or animae "to the soul", both datives. Gataker sets off the aside between them with full stops. The second half is cut short: supply malum est. Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…sivequod si sit, corpus id censeat An aside. quod si "and if": quod links the clause to what has just been said, as it often does before si. censeat is a jussive subjunctive, "let the body judge so", that is, let it speak for itself. But the body has no judgement, so the matter is none of the mind's concern. Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…") atbut illiillīto it (the soul) licetit is allowed etiameven interamid doloresdolōrēspains serenitatemserēnitātemserenity suamits own tranquillitatemquetranquillitātemqueand calm servareservāre,to keep necand not opinariopīnārīto think maluman evil esse.isBut the soul may keep its serenity and calm even amid pains, and not think that pain is an evil.at illi licet … servare, nec opinari licet "it is allowed" is impersonal: the one allowed goes in the dative, illi "to it", the soul, and what is allowed in the infinitive, servare "to keep" and opinari "to think". So: "the soul is free to keep its calm even amid pains". Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)nec opinari malum esse An accusative and infinitive with its subject left out: "and not to think (that it, pain) is an evil". malum is the predicate, accusative to match the understood subject. opinor is deponent: passive in form, active in meaning. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement) omneevery enimfor judiciumjūdicium,judgement etand impetus,impulse etand appetitusappetītus,desire etand aversatioāversātiōaversion intuswithin est;is quoquōto which place malimalīof evil nihilnothing ascendit.climbs upFor every judgement, and impulse, and desire, and aversion is within; and no evil climbs up there.omne enim judicium, et impetus, et appetitus, et aversatio intus est Four movements of the mind in Stoic thought: judgement, the impulse to act, desire and aversion. All of them are intus "within", in the soul's own keeping. With several subjects, est agrees with the nearest, aversatio.quo mali nihil ascendit quo is the relative adverb "to which place" and stands for "and to there": no evil climbs up into that inner place, as into a citadel. mali nihil "nothing of evil" is a partitive genitive, the Latin way of saying "no evil at all"; mali is the neuter adjective used as a noun. Partitive genitive (aliquid boni, nihil…)

Blot out impressions by telling yourself that it is in your power to keep wickedness, desire and disturbance out of your soul, and to see each thing as it really is and treat it as it deserves. Remember that nature gave you this power.

ImaginationesImāginātiōnēsimpressions deledēlē;wipe out saepeoften tecumtēcumto yourself sicsīcthus loquendoloquendō,by saying Inin potestatepotestātethe power meameāmy nuncnow situmplaced, lying est,is utthat nullanūllano inin hachācthis animaanimāsoul existatthere be improbitasimprobitās,wickedness nullanūllano cupiditascupiditās,desire nullanūllano omninoomnīnōat all perturbatioperturbātiō:disturbanceWipe out impressions, often saying to yourself: It lies in my power now that in this soul there be no wickedness, no desire, no disturbance at all;Imaginationes dele 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. Commands: imperative, memento, ne with the perfect subjunctivesaepe tecum sic loquendo loquendo is the ablative of the gerund of the deponent loquor: "by speaking". It says how the impressions are wiped out: by often saying to yourself (tecum "with yourself") the words that follow, which are given in the first person as Marcus's own. The gerund (agendo, laedendi)In potestate mea nunc situm est, ut Gataker marks the start of the words you say to yourself with a capital. In potestate mea situm est "it lies in my power" (situm is the perfect participle of sino, "placed"). Its subject is the ut clause: "that no wickedness exist in this soul". nulla … nulla … nulla repeats the negative with each noun, and omnino "at all" strengthens the last. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…) sedbut utthat omnibusall things qualiaquāliaof what sort reapserēāpsein reality sintthey are perspectisperspectīs,seen through proprōaccording to existimationeexīstimātiōneworth suasuāits own singulissingulīseach thing utarūtar.I deal withbut that, having seen all things for what they really are, I deal with each according to its worth.sed ut A second ut clause, still depending on in potestate mea situm est: "(it lies in my power) … but that I deal with each thing as it deserves". It is not enough to keep vice out; things must also be used rightly. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)omnibus qualia reapse sint perspectis An ablative absolute with an indirect question inside it: omnibus … perspectis "all things having been seen through", and qualia reapse sint "of what sort they really are" says what is seen. In English: "having seen all things for what they really are". reapse "in reality" is an old word, made from re and eapse "itself". Ablative absolutepro existimatione sua singulis utar utor "use, deal with" takes the ablative: singulis "each thing". pro existimatione sua "according to its own worth": suus refers here to each thing, not to the speaker, as it often does when its owner is close by in the clause. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaning mementomementōremember potestatispotestātispower hujusthis aāby naturanātūrānature tibito you tributaetribūtae.givenRemember this power, given to you by nature.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. Commands: imperative, memento, ne with the perfect subjunctive

In the senate or in private with anyone at all, speak with modesty rather than eloquence, and use sound language with everyone.

Etboth inin senatusenātū,the senate etand apudwith, in the presence of quemlibetanyone at all privatimprīvātim,in private curaecūraea care sitlet it be modestemodestēmodestly potiusrather quamthan disertedisertēeloquently loquiloquī.to speakBoth in the senate and in private with anyone at all, let it be your care to speak modestly rather than eloquently.curae sit … loqui curae is a predicative dative, "for a care": curae esse "to be a concern" (to someone). sit is a jussive subjunctive, and its subject is the infinitive loqui: "let speaking … be your care", that is, "take care to speak". Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")modeste potius quam diserte potius quam "rather than": modestly, with restraint, rather than diserte "eloquently, in fine words". Marcus, who spoke in the senate as emperor, warns himself against fine speaking. apud quemlibet "before anyone you like", anyone at all. Comparison: comparatives, superlatives, quam sanosānōsound verovērōand indeed apudwith omnesomnēseveryone sermonesermōnespeech utareūtāre.useAnd use sound speech with everyone.sano … sermone utare utare is another form of utaris, the present subjunctive of the deponent utor, used as a mild command: "you should use". utor takes the ablative, here sano … sermone "sound speech", which is wrapped round vero apud omnes. sanus "healthy, sound": speech that is honest and free of affectation. Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")

Augustus's whole court, family, friends, advisers, doctors and priests, has died. Think of the death of a whole family, such as the Pompeii, and of the epitaph "the last of his line": how anxiously the forebears tried to leave an heir, when someone had to be last in the end.

AugustiAugustīof Augustus aula,the court uxor,wife filiafīlia,daughter nepotesnepōtēs,grandsons privigniprīvignī,stepsons soror,sister Agrippa,Agrippa cognaticognātī,kinsmen familiaresfamiliārēs,intimates amiciamīcī,friends AriusArīus,Arius MaecenasMaecēnās,Maecenas medicimedicī,physicians popae,sacrificers aulacourt totatōtawhole mortimortīto death concessit.has yieldedThe court of Augustus, his wife, daughter, grandsons, stepsons, sister, Agrippa, kinsmen, intimates, friends, Arius, Maecenas, physicians, sacrificers: the whole court has yielded to death.Augusti aula, uxor, filia … aula tota morti concessit A list in the nominative with no verb until the end, where aula tota "the whole court" gathers it up as the subject, so the verb concessit is singular. morti concedere "to yield to death", with the dative, is a dignified way of saying "to die", as in 3.3. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi)uxor, filia, nepotes, privigni, soror Augustus's family: his wife Livia; his daughter Julia; his grandsons Gaius and Lucius Caesar, Julia's sons, whom he adopted as heirs and who both died young; his stepsons Tiberius and Drusus, Livia's sons; his sister Octavia.Agrippa … Arius, Maecenas, medici, popae Agrippa was Augustus's general and son-in-law; Arius (Arius Didymus) a Stoic philosopher of Alexandria who advised him; Maecenas his friend and minister, the patron of Virgil and Horace. Agrippa is masculine though of the 1st declension, like popa, the attendant who struck down the victim at a sacrifice; popae stands for the Greek "sacrificers". tumthen adto aliaother things tetēyourself transfertrānsfer;carry over, pass mortemqueand the death cogitacōgitā,think of nonnōnnot uniusūnīusof one hominis,man sedbut gentisof a family totiustōtīus,whole PompejorumPompējōrumof the Pompeii puta.say, for instanceThen pass on to other things; and think of the death not of one man but of a whole family, of the Pompeii, say.tum ad alia te transfer te transfer "carry yourself over", that is, "pass on" to other examples. transfer is the short imperative of transfero, like fer from fero. Commands: imperative, memento, ne with the perfect subjunctivenon unius hominis, sed gentis totius, Pompejorum puta non … sed "not … but": not one man's death but a whole family's. A gens is a Roman clan, all who bear one family name. Pompejorum "of the Pompeii" is the plural of Pompejus (Gataker writes j for the consonant i): the great house of Pompey, which died out soon after him. It is not the town Pompeii of 4.48. puta "suppose, say" is the imperative of puto used to mean "for instance". Gataker's spelling: j, caeterum, quenquam, -cunque necand not illudthat minus,less quodwhich tumulistumulīson tombs inscribiīnscrībīto be inscribed solet,is usually Ultimusthe last hicthis man generisof line suisuī.his ownAnd think no less of the words often inscribed on tombs: This man is the last of his line.nec illud minus, quod tumulis inscribi solet The verb is carried over from the last sentence: "and (think) no less of that which …". illud "that" points ahead to the words of the epitaph. tumulis "on tombs" is dative with inscribi, a compound of in; solet "is wont" with an infinitive means "is usually, is often". Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodUltimus hic generis sui The epitaph, with est left out: "this man is the last of his line". generis sui is a partitive genitive with the superlative ultimus "last", as in optimus omnium "best of all". hic could also be read as the adverb hīc "here", as in hic situs est "here lies": "here (lies) the last of his line". Partitive genitive (aliquid boni, nihil…) deinnext reputareputāconsider tecumtēcum,with yourself quamhow anxieanxiēanxiously egerintēgerintthey strove horumhōrumof these (men) antecessoresantecessōrēs,forebears utthat successoremsuccessōrema successor aliquemsome sibithem superstitemsurviving relinquerent:they might leave cumalthough necessenecessary tamenall the same fuerit,it was utthat aliquissomeone tandemat last ultimusthe last existeret.should prove to beNext, consider with yourself how anxiously the forebears of these men strove to leave some successor to outlive them; although all the same it was necessary that someone at last should prove to be the last.quam anxie egerint horum antecessores quam anxie "how anxiously" opens an indirect question after reputa, so egerint is subjunctive. agere ut is "to act so that, strive to": the forebears worked to leave an heir. horum "of these" are the men whose epitaphs say "the last of his line". Indirect questionsut successorem aliquem sibi superstitem relinquerent relinquerent is imperfect because it depends on the past egerint (sequence of tenses). superstes "surviving" takes the dative: sibi superstitem "surviving them", that is, outliving them; sibi refers to the forebears, the subject. Sequence of tensescum necesse tamen fuerit, ut aliquis tandem ultimus existeret cum with the subjunctive, answered by tamen, means "although": "although it was necessary all the same". The subject of necesse fuerit is the ut clause: "that someone at last should prove to be the last". existere "to come forth" is often "to turn out, prove to be". Concessive clauses: etiamsi, quamvis, cum atqueand hichīchere rursusrūrsusagain gentisof a family totiustōtīuswhole mortemthe death consideracōnsīderā.considerAnd here again consider the death of a whole family.atque hic rursus hic here is the adverb hīc "here, in this case", not the pronoun of the epitaph. Marcus comes back to where he began: in the last man of a line one sees the death of a whole family.