From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordDiakosmēsis concerns the ordering or ordered formation of the cosmos.
- In StobaeusThe report on Chrysippus distinguishes the cosmic system from the divine principle according to which its ordering arises and reaches completion.
- In this edition“Cosmic ordering” makes the reference explicit; “arrangement of the world” suits emphasis on the resulting structure.
- A place to beginGod is called world as the principle through which cosmic ordering is completed.
- English renderings
- ordering of the world; cosmic arrangement
Meaning
Diakosmēsis concerns the ordering or ordered formation of the cosmos. It can name the process and the resulting disposition.
Use in the book
The report on Chrysippus distinguishes the cosmic system from the divine principle according to which its ordering arises and reaches completion. Thus “world” can name either the organized whole or, in another sense, the ordering god. The noun helps keep the activity of ordering distinct from the already organized totality.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Cosmic ordering” makes the reference explicit; “arrangement of the world” suits emphasis on the resulting structure.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 153, 184. The report about Chrysippus is assigned by Wachsmuth to Arius Didymus; the several senses of world are stated within that report.