Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder

Use in the book

The earthly kind is the first living class explained at 981c–d. It includes all human beings and creatures with many feet or none, moving organisms and those held fast by roots. Its unity lies in constitution: all are mixed from all the bodily kinds, but earth and solid nature predominate. The enumeration does not make humanity a sixth class, nor separate plants from living beings because they are stationary.

The list deliberately crosses a possible boundary between mobile and immobile organisms. Roots anchor a living body, but lack of locomotion is not lack of life. This becomes especially useful when the Athenian challenges the many's view of the stars. The many have treated changing movement as evidence of life and uniform motion as absence of soul. The dialogue has already defined life by the combination of soul and body rather than by the visible novelty of a trajectory.

At 982a–b earthly movement is contrasted with celestial order. The Athenian calls disorderly movement unintelligent, then qualifies the earthly application: this is what the living being “about us” does for the most part. The qualification ὡς τὸ πολύ is important. It does not say that every motion of every human or earthly organism is always irrational. Such an absolute claim would also sit badly with the whole inquiry into how human beings may acquire intelligence and become wise. The comparison establishes a predominant difference and a normative direction for education.

The later hierarchy closes with “us human beings” at 984d, and the earthly living kind is said to be wholly mortal at 984b. This groups human beings with other earthly life under a common limit. It does not yet settle the destiny of an educated soul after the death of its bodily compound. The last pages' conditional hope for the wise must be interpreted alongside, rather than used to erase, the present class of mortal living beings.

“Earthly” should also be kept apart from “earth,” the body named in the fivefold list, and from the earth as a cosmic bulk at 983c. The individual creature, its predominant constituent, and the cosmic body are three related uses of the material vocabulary. A claim made about the movements of terrestrial organisms should not automatically be transferred to a theory of the earth's astronomical trajectory.

Places to read

1. 981c–dγήινον μὲν τιθῶμεν τὸ πρῶτον ἡμῖν ἕν — The earthly is the first living kind in the exposition
2. 981dπάντας μὲν ἀνθρώπους — Human beings belong within that kind
3. 981dὅσα πολύποδα καὶ ἄποδα — Differences in limbs do not divide the principal kind
4. 981dὅσα πορεύσιμα καὶ ὅσα μόνιμα — Movement and remaining in place are both included
5. 981dδιειλημμένα ῥίζαις — Rooted life is explicitly present
6. 982a–bὅπερ ὡς τὸ πολὺ δρᾷ τὸ περὶ ἡμᾶς ζῷον — The charge of disorder is qualified as usual rather than universal
7. 984bτὸ δὲ γήινον ἅπαν θνητὸν — The earthly living kind is wholly mortal

Translation in this edition

“Living being” allows the inclusion of plants without a change of English headword. “Held fast by roots” states the visible characteristic of the stationary group; it is not a declaration that every stationary thing is alive. “For the most part” preserves the limitation that a summary calling terrestrial life simply irrational would lose.

Predominant earthly constituent — γῆ (gē)

γῆ (gē)

Predominant earthly constituent. Earth supplies most of the earthly living kind’s bodily constitution. The kind is still compounded from all the bodies. Attested: γῆς (981d). Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder.

First living class explained — γήινος (gēinos)

γήινος (gēinos)

First living class explained. The earthly kind includes humans, animals, and rooted beings, united by earth’s predominance rather than by locomotion. Attested: γήινον (981c). Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder.

Earthly material nature — στερέμνιος (steremnios)

στερέμνιος (steremnios)

Earthly material nature. The adjective qualifies nature in the description of the earthly class’s firm, solid constitution. The attested feminine genitive agrees with φύσεως; it does not name a sixth body. The normalized lemma is confirmed by the LSJ entry. Attested: στερεμνίας (981d). Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder.

Lack of feet within earthly life — ἄπους (apous)

ἄπους (apous)

Lack of feet within earthly life. Footless beings remain members of earthly living nature. The classification does not make a particular bodily organ necessary for life. Attested: ἄποδα (981d). Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder.

Limb variation within one kind — πολύπους (polypous)

πολύπους (polypous)

Limb variation within one kind. Many-footed beings are included with human beings and footless creatures in the earthly class. Difference in the number of feet does not create another principal bodily kind. Attested: πολύποδα (981d). Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder.

Mobile earthly organisms — πορεύσιμος (poreusimos)

πορεύσιμος (poreusimos)

Mobile earthly organisms. The adjective identifies creatures able to move about, paired with those that remain in place. Both are living through the same soul–body account. Attested: πορεύσιμα (981d). Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder.

Rooted living beings — μόνιμος (monimos)

μόνιμος (monimos)

Rooted living beings. The stationary group is specified by roots. Remaining fixed does not disqualify it from life, so locomotion alone cannot be the general criterion of animation. Attested: μόνιμα (981d). Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder.

Attachment of plants — ῥίζα (rhiza)

ῥίζα (rhiza)

Attachment of plants. Roots explain how some earthly living beings are held in place. The phrase includes plants without classifying every immobile object as alive. Attested: ῥίζαις (981d). Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder.

Living without locomotion (contextual phrase)

ὅσα πορεύσιμα καὶ ὅσα μόνιμα, διειλημμένα ῥίζαις (981d)

The coordinated relative expressions include both things that move about and things that stay in place, the latter held by roots. Mobility is therefore not the general definition of life. This classification prepares the later criticism of judging soul by novelty of visible motion. Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder.

For the most part among us (contextual phrase)

ὅπερ ὡς τὸ πολὺ δρᾷ τὸ περὶ ἡμᾶς ζῷον (982a–b)

The clause qualifies the attribution of disorder to living beings around us. For the most part prevents an absolute assertion that every earthly act is unintelligent. The distinction is necessary for a dialogue that also offers some humans an education toward genuine wisdom. Earthly life rooted beings and the qualified charge of disorder.