From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordAiōn can name an age or span of life, as well as eternity.
- In StobaeusMoschion uses the word for an earlier age of human life.
- In this editionUse “age” in the historical poem and “eternity” in the argument about time’s model.
- A place to beginAn earlier age of human life is contrasted with civilization.
- English renderings
- eternity; age; lifetime
Meaning
Aiōn can name an age or span of life, as well as eternity. Its force depends on what endures and on the contrast drawn with time.
Use in the book
Moschion uses the word for an earlier age of human life. The Timaeus excerpt gives it a more exact philosophical role: eternity remains in unity, whereas its image, time, proceeds according to number. An indefinitely long historical period and this unchanging model of time therefore require different explanations.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
Use “age” in the historical poem and “eternity” in the argument about time’s model. A uniform rendering would erase the contrast.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 100, 109–110. The Timaeus passage supplies the main philosophical comparison; the word does not designate timelessness in every occurrence.