MED. 9.21Discipline of desire
George Long · 1862EN · Long

EXERCISETermination of activity, cessation from TERMmovement and TERMopinion, and in a sense their death, is TERMno evil. Turn thy thoughts now to the consideration of thy life, thy life as a child, as a youth, thy manhood, thy old age, for in these also every TERMchange was a death. Is this anything to fear? Turn thy thoughts now to thy life under thy grandfather, then to thy life under thy mother, then to thy life under thy father; and as thou findest many other differences and changes and terminations, ask thyself, Is this anything to fear? In like manner, then, neither are the termination and cessation and change of thy whole life a thing to be afraid of.

Original · ancient Greek

Ἐνεργείας ἀπόληξις, ὁρμῆς, ὑπολήψεως παῦλα καὶ οἷον θάνατος· οὐδὲν κακόν. μέτιθι νῦν ἐπὶ ἡλικίαν, οἷον τὴν παιδικήν, τὴν τοῦ μειρακίου, τὴν νεότητα, τὸ γῆρας· καὶ γὰρ τούτων πᾶσα μεταβολή, θάνατος· μήτι δεινόν; μέτιθι νῦν ἐπὶ βίον τὸν ὑπὸ τῷ πάππῳ, εἶτα τὸν ὑπὸ τῇ μητρί, εἶτα τὸν ὑπὸ τῷ πατρί, καὶ ἄλλας δὲ πολλὰς διαφθορὰς καὶ μεταβολὰς καὶ ἀπολήξεις εὑρίσκων ἐπερώτα σεαυτόν· μήτι δεινόν; οὕτως τοίνυν οὐδὲ ἡ τοῦ ὅλου σου βίου λῆξις καὶ παῦλα καὶ μεταβολή.

Leopold · Teubner 1908
Commentary

Death as the pause of three functions. Marcus defines death minimally: the παῦλα (pause) of activity, of TERMimpulse (ὁρμή), and of TERMjudgement (ὑπόληψις) — "a kind of death, and TERMno evil." A fine touch: he lists precisely the faculties on which the three disciplines rest (cf. 9.6, 9.7); death is merely their "recall-signal," not a catastrophe.

You have already died many deaths. Then an inductive therapy: each age (childhood, boyhood, youth, old age) gives way, and every such TERMchange is also a "death" — "anything to fear?" So too with the modes of one's life — under grandfather, mother, father. Since countless "death-changes" are already behind you and were no evil, then the "recall" of one's whole life (EXERCISEthe end) is no more to be feared than they were. The governing discipline is desire.

DisciplineDiscipline of desire
Record added2026-07-16
Statuspublished
Discipline of desire

George Long · 1862· EN · Long

EXERCISETermination of activity, cessation from TERMmovement and TERMopinion, and in a sense their death, is TERMno evil. Turn thy thoughts now to the consideration of thy life, thy life as a child, as a youth, thy manhood, thy old age, for in these also every TERMchange was a death. Is this anything to fear? Turn thy thoughts now to thy life under thy grandfather, then to thy life under thy mother, then to thy life under thy father; and as thou findest many other differences and changes and terminations, ask thyself, Is this anything to fear? In like manner, then, neither are the termination and cessation and change of thy whole life a thing to be afraid of.

Original · ancient Greek

Ἐνεργείας ἀπόληξις, ὁρμῆς, ὑπολήψεως παῦλα καὶ οἷον θάνατος· οὐδὲν κακόν. μέτιθι νῦν ἐπὶ ἡλικίαν, οἷον τὴν παιδικήν, τὴν τοῦ μειρακίου, τὴν νεότητα, τὸ γῆρας· καὶ γὰρ τούτων πᾶσα μεταβολή, θάνατος· μήτι δεινόν; μέτιθι νῦν ἐπὶ βίον τὸν ὑπὸ τῷ πάππῳ, εἶτα τὸν ὑπὸ τῇ μητρί, εἶτα τὸν ὑπὸ τῷ πατρί, καὶ ἄλλας δὲ πολλὰς διαφθορὰς καὶ μεταβολὰς καὶ ἀπολήξεις εὑρίσκων ἐπερώτα σεαυτόν· μήτι δεινόν; οὕτως τοίνυν οὐδὲ ἡ τοῦ ὅλου σου βίου λῆξις καὶ παῦλα καὶ μεταβολή.

Leopold · Teubner 1908
Related5
Commentary

Death as the pause of three functions. Marcus defines death minimally: the παῦλα (pause) of activity, of TERMimpulse (ὁρμή), and of TERMjudgement (ὑπόληψις) — "a kind of death, and TERMno evil." A fine touch: he lists precisely the faculties on which the three disciplines rest (cf. 9.6, 9.7); death is merely their "recall-signal," not a catastrophe.

You have already died many deaths. Then an inductive therapy: each age (childhood, boyhood, youth, old age) gives way, and every such TERMchange is also a "death" — "anything to fear?" So too with the modes of one's life — under grandfather, mother, father. Since countless "death-changes" are already behind you and were no evil, then the "recall" of one's whole life (EXERCISEthe end) is no more to be feared than they were. The governing discipline is desire.

DisciplineDiscipline of desire
Record added2026-07-16
Statuspublished