From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAxōn is an axle or axis.
- In StobaeusThe Hermetic description compares the Bear’s action to an axle, linking it to the daily revolution.
- In this editionUse “axle” when the mechanical comparison is foregrounded and “axis” for the geometrical line.
- A place to beginThe Bear’s role in celestial revolution is compared with an axle.
- English renderings
- axis; axle
Meaning
Axōn is an axle or axis. The mechanical image makes the relation between a fixed alignment and a revolving body intelligible.
Use in the book
The Hermetic description compares the Bear’s action to an axle, linking it to the daily revolution. A separate celestial account explicitly imagines the axis as the straight line through the poles. The first is an operational comparison involving a constellation; the second is a geometrical construction.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
Use “axle” when the mechanical comparison is foregrounded and “axis” for the geometrical line.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 192–193, 256. The Bear’s position “at the middle of the zodiac” is difficult in the Hermetic passage and has not been silently relocated.