Prayers and hymns Marcus Aurelius

“I love as thou lovest”

Meditations 10.21

Original text

Greek

The ancient words

ʽἘρᾷ μὲν ὄμβρου γαῖα, ἐρᾷ δὲ ὁ σεμνὸς αἰθήρ,ʼ ἐρᾷ δὲ ὁ κόσμος ποιῆσαι ὃ ἂν μέλλῃ γίνεσθαι. λέγω οὖν τῷ κόσμῳ ὅτι σοὶ συνερῶ. μήτι δὲ οὕτω κἀκεῖνο λέγεται, ὅτι· φιλεῖ τοῦτο γίνεσθαι;

Modern rendering

Close to the words

Literal English · editorial draft

“The earth loves the rain; the august upper air loves it too.” And the ordered world loves to make whatever is going to come to be. So I say to the ordered world: I love together with you. Is this not also what people mean when they say that a thing “loves” to happen?

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Historical translation

1862 · Source edition ↗

“The earth loves the shower;” and “the solemn aether loves:” and the universe loves to make whatever is about to be. I say then to the universe, that I love as thou lovest. And is not this too said, that “this or that loves [is wont] to be produced?”

Text matched to linked transcription; typography normalized.

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Sources & notes

Historical editions may include surrounding context or use different phrasing. Parallel columns compare passages; their lines are not word-for-word alignments.

The source review is selective. Additional prototype transcriptions are preserved in the repository pending verification. Editorial method →