From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAphthartos describes what does not undergo destruction or corruption.
- In StobaeusA definition of soul joins the adjective to absence of magnitude, immateriality, and a life that has its living from itself.
- In this edition“Imperishable” and “indestructible” can both fit.
- A place to beginSoul’s imperishability accompanies immateriality and self-derived life.
- English renderings
- imperishable; incorruptible; indestructible
Meaning
Aphthartos describes what does not undergo destruction or corruption. It is used of enduring realities without itself specifying the reason for their endurance.
Use in the book
A definition of soul joins the adjective to absence of magnitude, immateriality, and a life that has its living from itself. In Ocellus’s cosmology, the same adjective characterizes the whole world. These applications share a denial of destruction but belong to different accounts of what exists and how it persists.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Imperishable” and “indestructible” can both fit. Preserve the Greek distinction from athanatos where an argument also discusses immortality.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 173–174, 344. At I.49.20, “having its living from itself” grammatically qualifies life, while “possessing its being” qualifies soul.