Sunday, November 2, 2014

Meditations, Book III, Section 14

Meditations, Book III, Section 14:
As physicians and chirurgeons have always their instruments ready at hand for all sudden cures; so have thou always thy dogmata in a readiness for the knowledge of things, both divine and human: and whatsoever thou dost, even in the smallest things that thou dost, thou must ever remember that mutual relation, and connection that is between these two things divine, and things human. For without relation unto God, thou shalt never speed in any worldly actions; nor on the other side in any divine, without some respect had to things human.
Here's a different translation that uses the word "divine" instead of "God". Even if Marcus Aurelius believed in a demiurge, or a pantheistic demiurge, the meaning and associations of that are different than what is suggested by the word "God". Also, because Stoicism is about wisdom, not divine commands, I think the word "principles", found in the second translation, is more appropriate than "dogmata", which call to mind a set of brittle theological beliefs:
As physicians have always their instruments and knives ready for cases which suddenly require their skill, so do thou have principles ready for the understanding of things divine and human, and for doing everything, even the smallest, with a recollection of the bond which unites the divine and human to one another. For neither wilt thou do anything well which pertains to man without at the same time having a reference to things divine; nor the contrary.

No comments:

Post a Comment