From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Hunger
πεινάω
peinaōPeinaō means be hungry; hunger.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordPeinaō means be hungry; hunger.
- In LysisHunger tests whether every desire must disappear with badness.
- Reading contextThis lexical distinction supports the possibility of desires that are neither good nor bad and hence survive the imagined removal of badness.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “will there no longer be any hungering either?”
- English renderings
- Be hungry; hunger
Meaning
Be hungry; hunger.
Grammatical category: verb.
Use in the book
Hunger tests whether every desire must disappear with badness. Socrates allows the possibility of hunger that is not harmful and notes that even now a hungry person may be harmed or benefited.
The noun πείνη appears in the same discussion. Neither noun nor verb itself means a morally bad appetite: harmfulness is a further qualification. This lexical distinction supports the possibility of desires that are neither good nor bad and hence survive the imagined removal of badness.
Places to read
From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Hunger
λιμός
limosLimos is hunger and can extend to famine or scarcity.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordLimos is hunger and can extend to famine or scarcity.
- In StobaeusThe bucolic dialogue presents autumn as pleasant because hunger then weighs lightly on people.
- In this edition“Hunger” is appropriate here; “famine” would give the line an unsupported scale.
- A place to beginAutumn’s abundance is praised through the lightening of hunger.
- English renderings
- hunger; scarcity of food
Meaning
Limos is hunger and can extend to famine or scarcity. The scale of the deprivation depends on the context.
Use in the book
The bucolic dialogue presents autumn as pleasant because hunger then weighs lightly on people. Agricultural abundance makes the season attractive within a comparison of all four seasons. The phrase describes relief from hunger, without requiring a specific historical famine behind the poem.
Places to read
- I.8.39.1Autumn’s abundance is praised through the lightening of hunger.
Translation in this edition
“Hunger” is appropriate here; “famine” would give the line an unsupported scale.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 101. The poem offers a distinct attraction for each season, including winter’s leisure, before asking for a preference.