From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordStigmē names a point.
- In StobaeusThe comparison places intellect beside a unit and a point, while perception is described as divided and divisible.
- In this edition“Point” is sufficient once the geometrical context is clear.
- A place to beginThe point and unit illustrate intellect’s partlessness and indivisibility.
- English renderings
- point; geometrical point
Meaning
Stigmē names a point. In the mathematical analogy here, the point has no parts and serves as a model of indivisibility.
Use in the book
The comparison places intellect beside a unit and a point, while perception is described as divided and divisible. The analogy concerns the structure of cognition and its object. It does not say that intellect is a tiny physical speck or that it occupies a minimal portion of space.
Places to read
- I.48.6.6The point and unit illustrate intellect’s partlessness and indivisibility.
Translation in this edition
“Point” is sufficient once the geometrical context is clear. Distinguish it from a short but extended perceptual interval.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 316. The Greek has a Doric form of the headword. A proposed additional comparison of perception to a dyad and line is not printed by Wachsmuth.