From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordMeristos describes what is divided or admits division.
- In StobaeusPorphyry calls intellect indivisible and bodies divisible, placing soul between indivisible substance and the substance divided among bodies.
- In this edition“Divisible” expresses capacity for division; “divided among bodies” preserves the distribution emphasized in the longer phrase.
- A place to beginSoul is placed between indivisible intellect and divisible bodily reality.
- English renderings
- divisible; divided among bodies
Meaning
Meristos describes what is divided or admits division. In the selected account it distinguishes bodies from intellect and helps situate soul between them.
Use in the book
Porphyry calls intellect indivisible and bodies divisible, placing soul between indivisible substance and the substance divided among bodies. Qualities and forms in matter concern divisible bodies. The distinction is therefore more than a measurement of size: it helps explain how soul relates to both intelligible unity and bodily distribution.
Places to read
- I.49.17Soul is placed between indivisible intellect and divisible bodily reality.
Translation in this edition
“Divisible” expresses capacity for division; “divided among bodies” preserves the distribution emphasized in the longer phrase.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 343. The supplied article in the final clause attaches “divisible” to bodies in the printed construction.