Meditations — Page 15
The petty annoyances of injustice or unkindness are looked on by each with the same magnanimity.
Die kleinen Ärgernisse der Ungerechtigkeit oder Unfreundlichkeit werden von jedem mit der gleichen Großmut betrachtet.
'Why doth a little thing said or done against thee make thee sorry?
„Warum macht dich eine Kleinigkeit, die gegen dich gesagt oder getan wurde, traurig?
It is no new thing; it is not the first, nor shall it be the last, if thou live long.
Es ist nichts Neues; es ist nicht das erste Mal, noch wird es das letzte Mal sein, wenn du lange lebst.
At best suffer patiently, if thou canst not suffer joyously.'
Im besten Fall leide geduldig, wenn du nicht freudig leiden kannst.'
The Christian should sorrow more for other men's malice than for our own wrongs; but the Roman is inclined to wash his hands of the offender.
Der Christ sollte mehr über die Bosheit anderer Menschen trauern als über das uns selbst zugefügte Unrecht; aber der Römer neigt dazu, sich von dem Übeltäter loszusagen.
The virtue of suffering in itself is an idea which does not meet us in the _Meditations_.
Die Tugend des Leidens an sich ist ein Gedanke, dem wir in den _Meditationen_ nicht begegnen.
Both alike realise that man is one of a great community.
Beide erkennen gleichermaßen, dass der Mensch Teil einer großen Gemeinschaft ist.
But while he sees a chief importance in zeal, in exalted emotion that is, and avoidance of lukewarmness, the Roman thought mainly of the duty to be done as well as might be, and less of the feeling which should go with the doing of it.
Aber während er die größte Bedeutung im Eifer sieht, das heißt in erhabener Emotion, und in der Vermeidung von Lauheit, dachte der Römer hauptsächlich an die Pflicht, die so gut wie möglich erfüllt werden sollte, und weniger an das Gefühl, das die Erfüllung begleiten sollte.
To the saint as to the emperor, the world is a poor thing at best.
Für den Heiligen wie für den Kaiser ist die Welt bestenfalls eine armselige Sache.
Vocabulary
- kleinen
- Small, little (adjective, inflected form)
- Ärgernisse
- Annoyances, nuisances, minor irritations
- Ungerechtigkeit
- Injustice, unfairness, lack of justice
- Unfreundlichkeit
- Unfriendliness, unkindness, discourteous behavior
- werden
- To become; auxiliary for future or passive constructions
- jedem
- Each, every one (dative inflected form of 'jeder')
- gleichen
- Equal, same (inflected); also 'to resemble'
- Großmut
- Magnanimity, generosity of spirit, noble-mindedness
- betrachtet
- Viewed, regarded, considered (past participle of betrachten)
- Kleinigkeit
- A trifle, minor matter, small insignificant thing
- wurde
- Was, became (simple past of werden, passive auxiliary)
- traurig
- Sad, sorrowful, unhappy in mood or feeling
- nichts
- Nothing, not anything at all
- Neues
- Something new (nominalized adjective, neuter)
- Mal
- Time, instance, occurrence (as in 'one time')
- noch
- Still, yet, nor (depending on context)
- letzte
- Last, final (inflected ordinal adjective)
- wenn
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'if'
- lange
- Long, for a long time (adverb/adjective)
- besten
- Best (superlative, inflected form of 'gut')
- Fall
- Case, situation, instance, or fall
- leide
- Suffer (first-person singular imperative/present of leiden)
- geduldig
- Patiently, with patience (adjective/adverb)
- freudig
- Joyfully, cheerfully, with gladness
- leiden
- To suffer, to endure pain or hardship
- Christ
- Christian, a follower of Christ
- sollte
- Should, ought to (past subjunctive of sollen)
- Bosheit
- Malice, wickedness, evil-mindedness in a person
- anderer
- Of others, other people's (genitive adjective)
- Menschen
- People, human beings (plural of Mensch)
- trauern
- To mourn, to grieve, to feel sorrow
- selbst
- Ourselves, oneself, even (reflexive or emphasizing particle)
- zugefügte
- Inflicted, done (to someone), caused (adjective from zufügen)
- Unrecht
- Wrong, injustice, harm done to someone
- Römer
- Roman (person); also the biblical book Romans
- neigt
- Tends, inclines toward (third-person singular of neigen)
- dazu
- To it, for it, in addition, thereto
- Übeltäter
- Wrongdoer, evildoer, person committing harm
- loszusagen
- To dissociate from, renounce, cut ties with someone
- Tugend
- Virtue, moral excellence, ethical good quality
- Leidens
- Of suffering (genitive of Leiden)
- Gedanke
- Thought, idea, notion in one's mind
- Meditationen
- Meditations (plural); Marcus Aurelius's philosophical reflections
- begegnen
- To encounter, to meet, to come across
- Beide
- Both, the two (referring to two persons/things)
- erkennen
- To recognize, to realize, to perceive clearly
- gleichermaßen
- Equally, in the same measure, likewise
- Mensch
- Human being, person, man in a general sense
- Teil
- Part, portion, share of a larger whole
- Gemeinschaft
- Community, society, group sharing common bonds
- während
- While, during, whereas (conjunction/preposition)
- größte
- Greatest, largest (superlative, inflected form)
- Bedeutung
- Meaning, significance, importance of something
- Eifer
- Zeal, eagerness, fervent enthusiasm for something
- heißt
- Is called, means (third-person singular of heißen)
- erhabener
- More sublime, nobler, elevated (comparative adjective)
- Emotion
- Emotion, feeling, inner psychological state
- Vermeidung
- Avoidance, evasion, deliberately steering clear of something
- Lauheit
- Lukewarmness, indifference, lack of enthusiasm or zeal
- dachte
- Thought (simple past of denken, first/third person)
- hauptsächlich
- Mainly, primarily, chiefly, for the most part
- Pflicht
- Duty, obligation, responsibility one must fulfill
- möglich
- Possible, feasible, able to be done
- erfüllt
- Fulfilled, completed, carried out (participle of erfüllen)
- weniger
- Less, fewer, to a lesser degree
- Gefühl
- Feeling, emotion, sense, inner sensation
- Erfüllung
- Fulfillment, completion, realization of something desired
- begleiten
- To accompany, to go along with someone
- Heiligen
- Saint (dative/accusative); holy one, sacred person
- Kaiser
- Emperor, ruler of an empire
- Welt
- World, earth, the totality of existence
- bestenfalls
- At best, in the best-case scenario
- armselige
- Miserable, wretched, pitiful, poor (inflected adjective)
- Sache
- Thing, matter, affair, issue, concern
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