From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordChysis concerns flowing, pouring, or diffusion.
- In StobaeusThe report about Chrysippus reverses condensation from fire to earth: earth diffuses into water, water into air, and air into fire.
- In this edition“Diffusion” covers the repeated transitions; “liquefaction” fits only the stage into water.
- A place to beginDiffusion carries the sequence from earth back toward fire.
- English renderings
- diffusion; liquefaction; melting
Meaning
Chysis concerns flowing, pouring, or diffusion. In an elemental sequence it describes loosening and transition from a more consolidated state.
Use in the book
The report about Chrysippus reverses condensation from fire to earth: earth diffuses into water, water into air, and air into fire. Because the process continues beyond liquids, “melting” alone is too narrow for the whole sequence. The term belongs to a cycle of elemental transformation.
Places to read
- I.10.16c.2Diffusion carries the sequence from earth back toward fire.
Translation in this edition
“Diffusion” covers the repeated transitions; “liquefaction” fits only the stage into water.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 129. The witness cited here occurs in the retained running text. The preceding bracketed explanation is rejected by Wachsmuth as an addition.