From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordGlykys is sweet.
- In StobaeusThe Timaeus describes sweetness as the pleasant effect of material suited to the tongue restoring its natural condition.
- In this edition“Sweet” is direct; retain the distinction between the taste and the pleasure it produces.
- A place to beginSweet taste is explained as restoration of the tongue’s natural state.
- English renderings
- sweet
Meaning
Glykys is sweet. The taste term can be explained through a physical or evaluative account without losing its sensory reference.
Use in the book
The Timaeus describes sweetness as the pleasant effect of material suited to the tongue restoring its natural condition. It smooths what has been roughened and corrects excessive contraction or dispersal. Sweetness is therefore presented as restorative in this theory, rather than simply identified by a modern chemical constituent.
Places to read
- I.55.2.9Sweet taste is explained as restoration of the tongue’s natural state.
Translation in this edition
“Sweet” is direct; retain the distinction between the taste and the pleasure it produces.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 495. The exact distribution of the passage’s demonstratives is difficult, but the general contrast between disturbance and restoration is explicit.