From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordLoimos denotes plague or epidemic affliction without identifying a modern pathogen.
- In this workAt Selinus the adjacent river’s foul emissions are said to cause death and obstetrical harm, and mixing its flow with other rivers removes the problem.
- In this editionThe translation “miscarrying” at Selinus interprets δυστοκεῖν, whose range includes difficult childbirth.
- A place to readAttributes Selinus’ epidemic and reproductive harm to river malodor.
Meaning
Loimos denotes plague or epidemic affliction without identifying a modern pathogen. Dysōdia is foul smell; nosōdēs means unhealthy or disease-bearing. Agonia in Clement’s notice concerns failure of reproduction, while other versions refer to crop failure or difficult childbearing.
Use in the book
At Selinus the adjacent river’s foul emissions are said to cause death and obstetrical harm, and mixing its flow with other rivers removes the problem. In the wind dossier the causal medium is moving air: Plutarch calls the south wind heavy and unhealthy, while Clement adds barrenness among women. These are related environmental explanations but not identical diagnoses. The stories make collective health depend on surrounding water, terrain, and airflow, enabling the philosopher to act as civic benefactor. They do not establish germ theory, identify a specific disease, or prove that a particular engineering measure caused an observed decline in mortality. Acron’s separate treatment-by-fire report belongs to the same broad concern with managing conditions around the sick, but should not be merged with Empedocles’ interventions.
Places to read
- A 1 §§ 69–70 (biography)Diogenes Laertius VIII 70. Attributes Selinus’ epidemic and reproductive harm to river malodor.
- A 13–A 14 (biography)Plutarch, On Being a Busybody; Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies. Makes unhealthy wind a cause of communal illness or barrenness.
- A 3 (testimony)Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris. Reports Acron’s fires beside plague patients as a separate medical tradition.
Translation in this edition
The translation “miscarrying” at Selinus interprets δυστοκεῖν, whose range includes difficult childbirth. The lexicon retains the broader obstetrical sense rather than using it to diagnose one specific outcome.