From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordEnnoēma is a concept or conception.
- In StobaeusThe Stoic report calls concepts images in soul that are only as it were somethings and qualified things.
- In this edition“Concept” is clear, provided the repeated “as it were” remains central to the explanation.
- A place to beginConcepts are qualified as quasi-things represented in soul.
- English renderings
- concept; conception
Meaning
Ennoēma is a concept or conception. Its status can be distinguished from the things represented by it.
Use in the book
The Stoic report calls concepts images in soul that are only as it were somethings and qualified things. This qualification separates representative content from the status of ordinary objects. It also explains the reporter’s treatment of ideas of humans, horses, and other kinds without turning them into independently subsisting Forms.
Places to read
- I.12.3.1Concepts are qualified as quasi-things represented in soul.
Translation in this edition
“Concept” is clear, provided the repeated “as it were” remains central to the explanation.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 136–137. The technical expressions something and qualified thing are deliberately retained; simplifying them can erase the account’s ontological distinction.