Humanitext Reader

Theophrastus · Fragments §21.1

Five Aporias on Aristotle's Definition of Place

Passage 9 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Theophrastus presents five problematic consequences (aporias) that arise from Aristotle's definition of place.

§21.1Fr. 21 Θ. ἐν τοῖς Φυσικοῖς ἀπορεῖ πρὸς τὸν ἀποδοθέντα τοῦ τόπου λόγον ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλους τοιαῦτα, ὅτι τὸ σῶμα ἔσται ἐν ἐπιφανείᾳ, ὅτι κινούμενος ἔσται ὁ τόπος, ὅτι οὐ πᾶν σῶμα ἐν τόπῳ, οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ ἀπλανὴς, ὅτι ἐὰν συναχθῶσιν αἱ σφαῖραι, καὶ ὅλος ὁ οὐραο νὸς οὐκ ἔσται ἐν τόπῳ, ὅτι τὰ ἐν τόπῳ ὄντα μηδὲν αὐτὰ μετακινηθέντα, ἐὰν ἀφαιρεθῇ τὰ περιέχοντα αὐτὰ, οὐκέτι ἔσται ἐν τόπῳ.
Fr. 21 Theophrastus, in his *Physics*, raises such difficulties against the definition of place given by Aristotle: that body will be in a surface; that place will be in motion; that not every body is in a place, for not even the sphere of the fixed stars is; that if the spheres are gathered together, even the whole heaven will not be in a place; and that things which are in a place, though they themselves are not moved at all, if the things containing them are removed, will no longer be in a place.

Notes

  1. §21.1τοιαῦτα, ὅτι... — The adjective τοιαῦτα ("such things") in the main clause is concretely explained by the five coordinate ὅτι clauses.
  2. §21.1οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ ἀπλανὴς — ἡ ἀπλανής refers to the sphere of the fixed stars (ἡ ἀπλανὴς σφαῖρα). Additionally, the verb phrase ἔσται ἐν τόπῳ is omitted after this noun phrase.
  3. §21.1μηδὲν αὐτὰ μετακινηθέντα — μετακινηθέντα is an aorist passive participle (neuter plural nominative) agreeing with the preceding subject τὰ ἐν τόπῳ ὄντα, expressing concession ("although..."). αὐτά is an intensive pronoun ("themselves"), and μηδέν is used adverbially for strong negation ("not at all").

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §21.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:21.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.