From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Sinew
νεῦρον
neuronNeuron can refer to sinew or related cord-like bodily tissue.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordNeuron can refer to sinew or related cord-like bodily tissue.
- In StobaeusThe sleep account assigns air to neura and veins, alongside other allocations to blood, bones, and sight.
- In this edition“Sinew” avoids unwarranted precision; use “nerve” only when a particular context supports it.
- A place to beginSinews occur with veins in the elemental distribution of bodily material.
- English renderings
- sinew; tendon-like tissue
Meaning
Neuron can refer to sinew or related cord-like bodily tissue. Its resemblance to the modern word neuron should not impose a modern anatomical meaning.
Use in the book
The sleep account assigns air to neura and veins, alongside other allocations to blood, bones, and sight. The text does not supply enough anatomical detail to identify all the neura with modern nerves. “Sinews” preserves the broader ancient category.
Places to read
- I.41.8.5Sinews occur with veins in the elemental distribution of bodily material.
Translation in this edition
“Sinew” avoids unwarranted precision; use “nerve” only when a particular context supports it.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 291–292. The term’s bodily range must be determined locally rather than inferred from a modern scientific derivative.
From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Sinew
νεῦρα (neura); ὕδατι διπλασίονι (hydati diplasioni)
Neura is conventionally rendered sinews or tendons in this anatomical context.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordNeura is conventionally rendered sinews or tendons in this anatomical context.
- In this workAëtius says that sinew arises from fire and earth mixed with twice as much water.
- In this editionThe recipe depends on readings taken from Galen and other evidence, plus an emendation for “double.”
- A place to readGives a fire–earth–water composition for sinew and makes chilled sinew the source of nails.
Meaning
Neura is conventionally rendered sinews or tendons in this anatomical context. Translating it as modern nerves would imply a specialized function not established by the notice. The water is described as double, but the compressed recipe requires attention to the comparison intended.
Use in the book
Aëtius says that sinew arises from fire and earth mixed with twice as much water. A common reading treats fire and earth as single portions and water as two, but the sentence does not explicitly enumerate every unit in that way. It is therefore preferable to preserve the relative statement before presenting a normalized ratio. Sinew also serves as the starting material for nails: at the point where it encounters air and is chilled, nail is generated. The connection offers a process-based explanation of a tissue difference alongside the arithmetic differentiation of flesh and bone. It does not prove a modern anatomical continuity between tendon and nail, and it gives no microscopic structure. The testimony's interest lies in deriving recognizable bodily materials from a restricted inventory through proportion and subsequent alteration.
Places to read
- A 78 (testimony)2Aëtius. Gives a fire–earth–water composition for sinew and makes chilled sinew the source of nails.
- A 78 (apparatus)2Diels, apparatus. Records repairs to “and earth with water” and Bernadakis' double-water reading.
Translation in this edition
The recipe depends on readings taken from Galen and other evidence, plus an emendation for “double.” It is not secure enough to function as an independent exact chemical formula or as unmediated Empedoclean wording.