Humanitext Reader

Theophrastus · Fragments §43.1

Parmenides on the Unity of What Is

Passage 33 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Based on the testimony of Alexander, this passage summarizes Parmenides' ontological argument as set out by Theophrastus in the first book of his Inquiry into Nature, asserting that what is is one.

§43.1Fr. 43 Ὡς ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος ἱστορεῖ ὁ μὲν Θ. οὕτως ἐκτίεθεται Παρμενίδου δόξαν ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τῆς φυσικῆς ἱστορίας· τὸ παρὰ τὸ ὂν οὐκ ὂν, τὸ οὐκ ὂν οὐδὲν, ἓν ἄρα τὸ ὄν.
Fr. 43 As Alexander relates, Theophrastus sets out the doctrine of Parmenides in the first book of his Inquiry into Nature as follows: "What is besides that which is, is not; what is not is nothing; therefore, what is is one."

Notes

  1. §43.1τὸ παρὰ τὸ ὂν οὐκ ὂν — The preposition παρὰ with the accusative means "besides" or "beyond," modifying the articular participle τὸ ὄν (that which is) to form the subject phrase "what is besides that which is." In the predicate οὐκ ὄν (is not), the copula ἐστί is omitted.
  2. §43.1ἓν ἄρα τὸ ὄν — A sentence showing the conclusion of Parmenides' ontology. The subject is τὸ ὄν (that which is) and the predicate is ἓν (one), with the copula ἐστί omitted here as well. The inferential particle ἄρα (therefore) marks the logical consequence.

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §43.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:43.1

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