From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordPhrēn and its plural phrenes can name a bodily region or the mind and its resolve.
- In StobaeusThe Ajax verses speak of stubborn phrenes overcome by time, where minds or resolves is appropriate.
- In this editionUse “mind” for thought or resolve and “diaphragm” for the anatomical location specified here.
- A place to beginStubborn minds are said to yield to time.
- English renderings
- diaphragm; breast; mind
Meaning
Phrēn and its plural phrenes can name a bodily region or the mind and its resolve. Context is indispensable.
Use in the book
The Ajax verses speak of stubborn phrenes overcome by time, where minds or resolves is appropriate. The Timaeus locates a psychic kind between phrenes and navel, where the diaphragm is meant. Neither passage licenses one unvarying anatomical or mental translation.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
Use “mind” for thought or resolve and “diaphragm” for the anatomical location specified here.
Phrēn as mind or heart
Phrēn belongs to a word family linking the bodily region of the midriff with thought and feeling. In I.8.39.1, the question “what your heart chooses” uses phrēn for the inward source of preference. “Diaphragm” would be too anatomical in this dialogue, although anatomical senses of the family help explain its wider history.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 97, 101, 294. The plural form does not necessarily require a plural English organ; its lexical range differs from a modern anatomy label.