From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordHaplous describes what is simple rather than composite.
- In StobaeusThe report on Anaximenes criticizes the explanation of living creatures from simple, uniform air alone, insisting that an acting cause is also needed.
- In this edition“Simple” retains the common contrast; “uniform” or “uncompounded” can explain the particular sense.
- A place to beginUniform material alone is criticized as an insufficient account of production.
- English renderings
- simple; uncompounded; uniform
Meaning
Haplous describes what is simple rather than composite. The respect of simplicity varies: a material can be uniform, while a soul can be described as lacking constituent parts.
Use in the book
The report on Anaximenes criticizes the explanation of living creatures from simple, uniform air alone, insisting that an acting cause is also needed. The discussion of soul’s powers instead connects simplicity with powers that belong intrinsically to soul rather than being added components. These arguments ask different questions about composition.
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Translation in this edition
“Simple” retains the common contrast; “uniform” or “uncompounded” can explain the particular sense. It does not mean intellectually unsophisticated.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 123, 367. The criticism of Anaximenes is the reporter’s, not part of the quoted analogy between soul and cosmic air.