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Theophrastus · Fragments §35.1

The Composition of the Stars and the Fifth Element

Passage 25 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Theophrastus addresses Plato's cosmogony involving fire and earth, refutes the implication that the stars and heaven are made of these elements, and introduces the fifth, circularly moving element.

§35.1Fr. 35 Ὁ δημιουργὸς ἤρχετο τῆς συστάσεως τοῦ κόσμου ἐκ πυρὸς καὶ γῆς· δεῖ δὲ τὸ γενησόμενον σωματοειδὲς ἀντιτυπικὸν εἶναι καὶ ὁρατὸν Θ. φησιν·
Fr. 35 The Demiurge began the composition of the cosmos from fire and earth; but that which is to be generated must be bodily, resistant, and visible, says Theophrastus.
εἰ τὸ ὁρατὸν καὶ τὸ ἁπτὸν ἐκ γῆς καὶ πυρός ἐστι, τὰ ἄστρα καὶ ὁ οὐρανὸς ἔσται ἐκ τούτων· οὐκ ἔστι δέ.
If the visible and the tangible are from earth and fire, the stars and the heaven will be from these; but they are not.
Ταῦτα λέγει εἰσάγων τὸ πέμπτον σῶμα τὸ κυκλοφορητικόν.
He says these things while introducing the fifth, circularly moving body.

Notes

  1. §35.1ἤρχετο — Third-person singular imperfect of ἄρχομαι (to begin), taking the genitive complement τῆς συστάσεως (composition). The imperfect aspect describes the initiation of the cosmogonical process.
  2. §35.1τὸ γενησόμενον — Substantivized neuter singular future participle of γίγνομαι, meaning 'that which is to be generated' or 'what is about to come into being,' fitting the context of the physical requirements for the cosmic body.
  3. §35.1ἔσται — Third-person singular future. Despite the compound subject consisting of the neuter plural τὰ ἄστρα and the masculine singular ὁ οὐρανὸς, the verb is singular, influenced by the schema Atticum (neuter plural subject with singular verb) or agreeing with the nearest subject.

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §35.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:35.1

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