The stellar living kind and its excellent body and soul

Use in the book

After the earthly class, a second visible living kind is introduced at 981d–e. It is mainly fire, with earth, air, and small parts of all the remaining kinds. At the turn of the page the celestial population is called the divine kind of stars, having obtained the finest body and the happiest and best soul. Bodily beauty and psychic excellence are therefore combined. The stars are not good despite an essentially degraded embodiment; they provide a particularly fine instance of the soul–body compound.

The description is initially a theological classification to be supported by the ensuing arguments. At 982a–e2 regular motion is offered as evidence of intelligence. At 983a–c immense bulk and exact recurrent movement support an appeal to divine causation. At 983e–984b worship follows under the alternative of gods themselves or god-made images. It would reverse the order of the passage to report that the word “star” already contains all those conclusions in its lexical meaning. The argument has to establish the appropriateness of divine predicates.

The fiery constitution does not exhaust the stars' nature. Their finest body is paired with an excellent soul; the later charge against purely bodily causes insists on that distinction. Nor is their visibility sufficient proof by itself. The same argument calls earthly beings visible. What distinguishes the stellar kind is the combination of fine embodiment, regular intelligent behavior, cosmological benefit, and the soul's agency that the Athenian takes those features to require.

The text permits two different qualifications that must remain visible. At 981e–982a2 it allows either immortality or sufficiently long life. At 983e–984a it allows either identification as gods or treatment as images produced by gods. The later language becomes firmer, naming them visible gods and calling one visible kind immortal. That movement in confidence is a feature to be read, not a license to delete the earlier alternatives retrospectively.

The divine kind is also a collective classification, not a full astronomical catalogue. The eight powers introduced at 986a and the later naming of particular planets add distinctions within the celestial sphere. Their planetary order should not be read back into the present contrast as if the fiery kind numbered exactly one bodily object. The recurring singular “kind” and plural “stars” work at different levels.

Places to read

1. 981d–eτὸ γὰρ πλεῖστον πυρὸς ἔχει — Fire predominates in the second visible kind
2. 981eθεῖον γένος ἄστρων — The heavenly beings are classified as a divine stellar kind
3. 981eσώματος μὲν τυχὸν καλλίστου — Their embodiment is exceptionally fine
4. 981eψυχῆς δ’ εὐδαιμονεστάτης τε καὶ ἀρίστης — Their soul is happiest and best
5. 982eτὴν τῶν ἄστρων φύσιν — The stellar nature is the subject of the inference from uniform action
6. 982e–983aδικαίως ἔμψυχα αὐτὰ λέγομεν — Their being called ensouled is presented as a justified claim

Translation in this edition

“Happiest” translates εὐδαιμονεστάτης and should not be flattened into “immortal”: felicity and duration are distinct predicates. “Ensouled” preserves the positive presence of soul. The edition's broad “stars” needs its local setting before a reader decides whether the fixed stars, planets, or heavenly beings collectively are meant.

Celestial living status — θεῖος (theios)

θεῖος (theios)

Celestial living status. The stellar kind is divine in the account that pairs excellent body and soul. This classification is developed through the subsequent arguments about regularity and causation. Attested: θεῖον (981e). The stellar living kind and its excellent body and soul.

A defended stellar predicate — ἔμψυχος (empsychos)

ἔμψυχος (empsychos)

A defended stellar predicate. The stars are called ensouled, and their size is introduced as further justification. The adjective asserts the presence of soul, not mere visible movement. Attested: ἔμψυχα (983a). The stellar living kind and its excellent body and soul.

Predominant stellar material — πῦρ (pyr)

πῦρ (pyr)

Predominant stellar material. Fire supplies the largest share of the stellar body, alongside smaller portions of other bodily kinds. Predominance does not mean purity. Attested: πυρὸς (981d). The stellar living kind and its excellent body and soul.

Stellar soul’s excellence — εὐδαίμων (eudaimōn)

εὐδαίμων (eudaimōn)

Stellar soul’s excellence. The superlative describes the happiest soul possessed by the stellar kind. Happiness is distinct from the separate question whether its life is immortal or sufficiently long. Attested: εὐδαιμονεστάτης (981e). The stellar living kind and its excellent body and soul.

The stellar collective — γένος (genos)

γένος (genos)

The stellar collective. The divine kind of stars is a collective class of living beings. Its singular name does not say that the class contains just one star. Attested: γένος (981e). The stellar living kind and its excellent body and soul.

Minor material constituents — μέρος (meros)

μέρος (meros)

Minor material constituents. Small parts of all the remaining bodily kinds occur in the mainly fiery stellar body. Their presence makes explicit that the classification follows predominance. Attested: μέρη (981e). The stellar living kind and its excellent body and soul.

Divine living collective — ἄστρον (astron)

ἄστρον (astron)

Divine living collective. Stars name the heavenly living kind endowed with a fine body and excellent soul. Particular planetary distinctions are supplied later, not by this noun alone. Attested: ἄστρων (981e). The stellar living kind and its excellent body and soul.

Fire predominates but does not stand alone (contextual phrase)

τὸ γὰρ πλεῖστον πυρὸς ἔχει (981d)

Most of fire identifies the predominant material of the stellar kind. The subsequent clauses add earth, air, and small portions of the other bodies. The later shorthand as if wholly of fire at 982a must be read alongside this explicit mixed constitution. The stellar living kind and its excellent body and soul.