From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Cartilage
χόνδρος
chondrosChondros names cartilage or gristle.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordChondros names cartilage or gristle.
- In StobaeusThe account attributed to Empedocles explains hearing when air strikes a cartilage suspended inside the ear like a bell.
- In this edition“Cartilage” preserves the reported material identification; “eardrum” would substitute a more specific identification not securely given by the word.
- A place to beginA bell-like cartilage responds to air entering the ear.
- English renderings
- cartilage; gristle
Meaning
Chondros names cartilage or gristle. In the hearing report it denotes a responsive structure within the ear.
Use in the book
The account attributed to Empedocles explains hearing when air strikes a cartilage suspended inside the ear like a bell. The comparison emphasizes the structure’s response to impact. Air and vibration belong to this explanation without requiring that the transmitted anatomical description be equated precisely with a modern structure.
Places to read
- I.53.1A bell-like cartilage responds to air entering the ear.
Translation in this edition
“Cartilage” preserves the reported material identification; “eardrum” would substitute a more specific identification not securely given by the word.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 491. The bell is an explanatory comparison. Pneuma in this context is the air involved in hearing, not necessarily a distinct psychic or divine substance.
From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Cartilage
τῶι χονδρώδει (tōi chondrōdei); χόνδρῳ (chondrōi)
Chondrōdes means cartilaginous; the substantive phrase names a cartilaginous part.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordChondrōdes means cartilaginous; the substantive phrase names a cartilaginous part.
- In this workAëtius says hearing occurs when breath impacts this part, which hangs within the ear, swinging and being struck like a bell.
- In this editionThe printed χονδρώδει and Stobaeus's χόνδρῳ differ grammatically but retain the cartilaginous description.
- A place to readDescribes impact on the cartilaginous part suspended within the ear.
Meaning
Chondrōdes means cartilaginous; the substantive phrase names a cartilaginous part. Chondros, “cartilage,” is the variant cited from Stobaeus. The text gives a material description without an anatomically precise name.
Use in the book
Aëtius says hearing occurs when breath impacts this part, which hangs within the ear, swinging and being struck like a bell. Its material and suspended condition make it capable of the reported motion. The notice thus offers more physical specification than the bare bell comparison, although it remains a single compressed sentence.
Theophrastus's “sprout of flesh” and beating of air against solid parts are important parallels. They should not be made into certain references to an eardrum, ossicle, or another particular modern structure. The supplied witnesses are not explicit enough for that identification, and their different descriptions may reflect different stages of reporting. What can be safely retained is the reported role of an internal, struck, mobile bodily part in the explanation of hearing.
Places to read
- A 93 (testimony)Aëtius. Describes impact on the cartilaginous part suspended within the ear.
- A 86 § 9 (testimony)Theophrastus, On the Senses 9. Offers the related fleshy-sprout and internal-resonance account.
Translation in this edition
The printed χονδρώδει and Stobaeus's χόνδρῳ differ grammatically but retain the cartilaginous description. The witness, not Empedocles in a preserved verse, supplies this anatomical wording.