From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordParamenein means to remain or persist; in context the leaves remain.
- In this workThe retention of leaves is explained through a larger supply of moisture.
- In this editionThe plant names are examples within one explanatory claim, not three separately developed Empedoclean species accounts.
- A place to readNames bay, olive, and palm as plants whose greater moisture enables leaves to remain.
Meaning
Paramenein means to remain or persist; in context the leaves remain. Daphnē, elaia, and phoinix are the bay, olive, and palm used as examples. “Evergreen” is a useful English category for the reported behaviour, not a technical Greek headword supplied in the notice.
Use in the book
The retention of leaves is explained through a larger supply of moisture. Aëtius contrasts these plants with those whose insufficient fluid is dried out in summer, and names three recognizable examples. The significance of the list lies in its connection of a persistent outward character with a material condition inside the plant. The account does not say that the three species have identical mixtures in every respect, or that abundant water is their only defining property. Nor should one infer an empirical measurement of their water content. This is a causal proposal reported through a handbook. Its precision is at the level of comparative abundance and persistence; it offers no theory of leaf longevity, replacement, or dormancy.
Places to read
- A 70 (testimony)2Aëtius. Names bay, olive, and palm as plants whose greater moisture enables leaves to remain.
Translation in this edition
The plant names are examples within one explanatory claim, not three separately developed Empedoclean species accounts. Translating phoinix as palm is secured by the botanical context rather than by the word's other possible meanings.