On Every Impulse, the Just
Read the full text in our reader
Μὴ ἀπορρέμβεσθαι, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ πάσης ὁρμῆς τὸ δίκαιον ἀποδιδόναι καὶ ἐπὶ πάσης φαντασίας σῴζειν τὸ καταληπτικόν.
Not to be swept off course, but on every impulse to render what is just, and on every impression to preserve the power of secure comprehension.
A two-part rule for the ruling faculty: never let yourself be whirled off course; on every impulse to act, render what justice requires, and on every impression, keep intact the power to grasp things as they truly are.
This compact maxim maps precisely onto two of the three Stoic "disciplines" that structure the Meditations — the discipline of action and the discipline of assent. First the negative: μὴ ἀπορρέμβεσθαι, do not be "whirled away," carried off course by distraction or passion like a boat swept from its heading. Then the two positive commands. On every ὁρμή, every impulse toward action, one must ἀποδιδόναι τὸ δίκαιον, "render what is just" — treating the impulse to act as always answerable to justice, the social virtue. This is the discipline of action: nothing done except what is right toward others.
The second command governs the inner life. On every φαντασία, every impression that presents itself to the mind, one must "preserve τὸ καταληπτικόν," the faculty of secure comprehension — the power to grasp the impression accurately and not be deceived by it. This is the discipline of assent: judging each appearance for what it truly is before agreeing to it. Together the two clauses cover the whole of conduct: act justly, and see clearly. The undercurrent, as so often in Marcus, is economy — a single sentence he can carry into any moment, checking both what he is about to do and what he is about to believe.
Read the full commentary — and tap any word for its dictionary entry — in the interlinear reader.
Open Meditations 4.22 in the full reader
Always open passages in the reader
You are reading a page of the Meditations — the whole book is free in our interlinear reader.
The Great Library Project presses the classics in their original languages, glossed word by word — free to read, always. Browse the whole library.
Also on our shelves:
Meditations 4.22 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/meditations-greek/4.22/