The quote I posted was this one:
"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but...will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."The closest thing to that in my copy of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations is this:
"Now departure from the world of men is nothing to fear, if gods exist: because they would not involve you in any harm. If they do not exist, or if they have no care for humankind, then what is life to me in a world devoid of gods, or devoid of providence? But they do exist, and they do care for humankind: and they have put it absolutely in man's power to avoid falling into the true kinds of harm."It seems to me like the former quote was fabricated based loosely on the latter, and I have not been able to track down the source of the forgery. Marcus Aurelius was NOT an atheist, the actual quote should show this quite clearly, though much of his philosophy was very practical, and for the most part disinterested in the supernatural.
—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.11
EDIT: If anyone finds another translation that is closer to the quote I have decided is a fake, I'd like to know about it.
In case you didn't know, many Roman senators were indeed atheists, however, they were not open about it as people would have disdained the fact that they did not share the belief of their ancestors.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there are numerous translations for Meditations, and not everybody has the same copy. If you know Latin, as I do, you would understand that it is very difficult to find out precisely what is implied in a passage.
I do not mean to discredit you, as I have not even read the original Latin text of Meditations, but simply offer some relevant facts. Marcus Aurelius, being a stoic, may have indeed believed in a god, however, it is difficult to tell. There are many falsified quotations on the internet and I applaud you bringing attention to this.
The original text of the Meditations is greek. Check Xylander's edition about 1550, and you'll see.
DeleteThe original text of the Meditations is greek. Check Xylander's edition about 1550, and you'll see.
DeleteI appreciate the feedback. The quote from the translation that I own and the supposed quote are close enough to see that one was derived from the other, but far enough away that I do not think it is possible for them to have been translated from the same text.
ReplyDeleteI think the former comes from Epicurus. It's been a while, though, I could be wrong.
ReplyDelete