From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordSeismos denotes an earthquake or shaking.
- In StobaeusThe Aristotelian account makes dry exhalation enter porous underground spaces and shake them when confined.
- In this edition“Earthquake” preserves the phenomenon under discussion.
- A place to beginConfined dry exhalation shakes the ground.
- English renderings
- earthquake
Meaning
Seismos denotes an earthquake or shaking. The chapter’s physical explanation places it among disturbances arising from the movement of material beneath the ground.
Use in the book
The Aristotelian account makes dry exhalation enter porous underground spaces and shake them when confined. Compactness, cooling, and dryness can hold the force inside. The apparent calm above ground is then explained by the wind’s force turning inward. These linked claims distinguish the evidence offered by the report from the mechanism it proposes.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Earthquake” preserves the phenomenon under discussion. The entry records the ancient explanation without replacing it with a modern geological account.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 249.