From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordPeriphereia is the circular outer extent or periphery.
- In StobaeusZeno’s account describes air and fire as forming their mass toward the world’s circumference while also tending in some way toward its center.
- In this edition“Circumference” suits the spherical geometry; “periphery” can clarify the outer region where accumulation occurs.
- A place to beginAir and fire accumulate toward the circumference despite a qualified central tendency.
- English renderings
- circumference; periphery
Meaning
Periphereia is the circular outer extent or periphery. In cosmology it is defined in relation to the center of the whole.
Use in the book
Zeno’s account describes air and fire as forming their mass toward the world’s circumference while also tending in some way toward its center. The apparently opposed tendencies are both retained. The periphery is a location within the explanation of elemental arrangement, not an independent substance outside the cosmos.
Places to read
- I.19.4.2Air and fire accumulate toward the circumference despite a qualified central tendency.
Translation in this edition
“Circumference” suits the spherical geometry; “periphery” can clarify the outer region where accumulation occurs.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 166. The qualification “in some way” belongs to the tendency toward the center; the passage does not explain its mechanism.