The three middle kinds and their changing numbers

Use in the book

At 984b the Athenian turns from the two visible kinds to the three middle kinds of the five. He proposes ether after fire; soul molds ethereal living beings chiefly from ether, with smaller portions of the other bodies for a bond. After ether comes air, and the third of these middle kinds is from water. All are ensouled bodily beings. Their material fineness or uncertain visibility does not remove them from the definition of living being.

At 984c–d2 the enumeration is recast as a descent from manifest gods to human beings: second, third, fourth, and fifth end in us. At 984d–e the stars are first, then daimons, then the aerial kind holding the third and middle seat. In this descending pattern ether is naturally associated with the daimons immediately below the stars; air is third; water lies between air and earthly humanity. The text next discusses ether and air together. This sequence gives a basis for understanding the two finer intermediary kinds, but the assignment “ethereal daimons” is a contextual identification, not a quoted two-word definition in the passage.

At 985b water is nevertheless expressly called fifth: τὸ δὲ ὕδατος πέμπτον ὄν. This must not be regularized to “fourth.” The exposition has introduced earthly beings, fiery beings, ether, air, and finally water, so the local fifth can be understood by the order in which the five living kinds have been presented. The descending hierarchy, however, placed air third and ended with humans. Recognizing the two frames makes the change intelligible without pretending that the dialogue maintains one consistently numbered scale at every point.

Water's likeness to a demigod is also qualified. Someone likening rightly “would liken” it so. The account characterizes it through intermittent visibility: sometimes seen, sometimes hidden and unclear, producing wonder for dim sight. It does not tell a genealogy from a divine and mortal parent or identify this class with a catalogue of named heroes. The category is being fitted to the passage's own material and perceptual distinctions.

The middle beings make heaven full of life and connect levels otherwise far apart. Yet the text gives ether and air far more cognitive and communicative detail than it gives water. One should not automatically transfer every statement about their memory, knowledge of thoughts, or interpretive journeys to the watery kind. The latter belongs in the fivefold animated whole but receives a different local description.

Places to read

1. 984bτὰ τρία τὰ μέσα τῶν πέντε — Three middle kinds are distinguished within five
2. 984bαἰθέρα μὲν γὰρ μετὰ τὸ πῦρ θῶμεν — Ether is placed after fire
3. 984cκαὶ τὸ τρίτον ἐξ ὕδατος — Water is third among the middle kinds
4. 984c–d2δεύτερα δὲ καὶ τρίτα καὶ τέταρτα καὶ πέμπτα — The descending sequence follows the manifest gods
5. 984dεἰς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀποτελευτᾶν — That sequence ends in human beings
6. 984eἔχον ἕδραν τρίτην καὶ μέσην — Air holds the third, central seat
7. 985bτὸ δὲ ὕδατος πέμπτον ὂν — The water-kind is locally called fifth
8. 985bἡμίθεον μὲν ἀπεικάσειεν — It is likened to a demigod

Translation in this edition

The edition preserves “fifth” at 985b and distinguishes the daimons from “the kind of air” with Burnet's δέ at 984e. It does not adopt the apparatus alternative γε. At 984b its “most clearly” is construed with the middle kinds' coming into being; the final editorial note acknowledges the alternative of taking it with “speak.” The claim therefore retains both the phrase “according to the fair opinion” and the source's notice of syntactic uncertainty.

Fine intermediary constitution — ἀήρ (aēr)

ἀήρ (aēr)

Fine intermediary constitution. Air supplies the kind next after ether, one of the two transparent, highly intelligent middle classes discussed together. Attested: ἀέρος (984e). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Theological interval — μεταξύ (metaxy)

μεταξύ (metaxy)

Theological interval. The middle living kinds arise between the two visible extremes. This locates them in the fivefold classification without making them a bodiless interval or empty space. Attested: μεταξὺ (984b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

A descending range of life — γένεσις (genesis)

γένεσις (genesis)

A descending range of life. The sequence beginning from manifest gods ends with human beings. The term locates the kinds within a generated living order, without resolving the passage’s changing ordinal frames. Attested: γενέσεως (984d). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Likeness of watery life — ἡμίθεος (hēmitheos)

ἡμίθεος (hēmitheos)

Likeness of watery life. A fitting likeness for the water-kind, whose appearance is intermittent. The passage does not define it by a human–divine parentage or identify named heroes. Attested: ἡμίθεον (985b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Body of the upper intermediary kind — αἰθήρ (aithēr)

αἰθήρ (aithēr)

Body of the upper intermediary kind. Placed after fire, ether supplies the chief material of a middle living kind. The descending sequence associates this level with the daimons below the stellar gods. Attested: αἰθέρα (984b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Qualified account of middle kinds — ἐπιεικής (epieikēs)

ἐπιεικής (epieikēs)

Qualified account of middle kinds. Fair qualifies the opinion according to which the middle living kinds have come into being. The phrase supplies an epistemic qualification alongside the syntactically disputed most clearly. Attested: ἐπιεικῆ (984b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Water in the order of exposition — πέμπτος (pemptos)

πέμπτος (pemptos)

Water in the order of exposition. Fifth here identifies the water-kind. It can be understood as the fifth living kind introduced, but it does not match the descending rank that places humans last; the wording must not be emended silently. Attested: πέμπτον (985b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

A heaven full of life — εἰκός (eikos)

εἰκός (eikos)

A heaven full of life. It is likely that soul, using all bodily kinds, has filled heaven with living beings. The explanatory claim retains a stated likelihood. Attested: εἰκὸς (984c). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

A fitting religious classification — ἀπεικάζειν (apeikazein)

ἀπεικάζειν (apeikazein)

A fitting religious classification. The water-kind would appropriately be likened to a demigod. The cautious classification is not a genealogy from a god and a mortal parent. Attested: ἀπεικάσειεν (985b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Starting point of the hierarchy — φανερός (phaneros)

φανερός (phaneros)

Starting point of the hierarchy. The hierarchy begins with manifest gods and descends through four further levels to human beings. Attested: φανερῶν (984d). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Between visible extremes — μέσος (mesos)

μέσος (mesos)

Between visible extremes. The three middle kinds stand between fiery stellar life and earthly mortality. Middle names their structural position, not identical properties shared by all three. Attested: μέσα (984b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Central aerial seat — μέσος (mesos)

μέσος (mesos)

Central aerial seat. The aerial kind occupies the third and middle seat in the descending hierarchy. Its placement is distinct from air’s ordinal among the five named bodies. Attested: μέσην (984e). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Formation of ether-life — πλάττειν (plattein)

πλάττειν (plattein)

Formation of ether-life. Soul molds living beings from ether, chiefly of that nature and partly of other kinds for a bond. Attested: πλάττειν (984b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Fair account of middle life — δόξα (doxa)

δόξα (doxa)

Fair account of middle life. The fair opinion qualifies the introduction of the middle kinds. The supplied edition notes uncertainty over the placement of most clearly in the same construction. Attested: δόξαν (984b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Capacity of the ethereal living kind — δύναμις (dynamis)

δύναμις (dynamis)

Capacity of the ethereal living kind. The ethereal living beings are molded as beings having power. The local expression does not yet identify the eight astronomical powers catalogued after 986a. Attested: δύναμιν (984b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Aerial rank — ἕδρα (hedra)

ἕδρα (hedra)

Aerial rank. The aerial kind holds a third and middle seat. The image gives its rank within the hierarchy; it need not be converted into the coordinates of a physically mapped throne. Attested: ἕδραν (984e). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Last middle kind introduced — ὕδωρ (hydōr)

ὕδωρ (hydōr)

Last middle kind introduced. The water-kind is locally called fifth and likened to a demigod. That ordinal differs from its expected fourth position in the descending hierarchy that ends with earthly humans. Attested: ὕδατος (985b). The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

From manifest gods down to us (contextual phrase)

ἀπὸ θεῶν τῶν φανερῶν ἀρξάμενα γενέσεως, εἰς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀποτελευτᾶν (984d)

The sequence is now described as starting from manifest gods and ending in human beings. This descending frame differs from the earlier order in which the living kinds were introduced. The later water-kind’s local fifth cannot be made fourth merely to regularize the hierarchy. The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Third and central air (contextual phrase)

ἀέριον δὲ γένος, ἔχον ἕδραν τρίτην καὶ μέσην (984e)

The aerial kind is distinguished with δέ and assigned the third, middle seat. The following two-kind discussion identifies ether and air separately. Reading the apparatus alternative γε here would change how the aerial kind relates to the preceding daimons, so it cannot be silently substituted. The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.

Water called fifth (contextual phrase)

τὸ δὲ ὕδατος πέμπτον ὂν (985b)

The numeral really is fifth in the supplied Greek. Water is the final living class introduced after earth, fire, ether, and air, although the descending hierarchy puts air third and ends in humans. A contextual explanation may distinguish the frames, but an exact lexicon must retain the local wording. The three middle kinds and their changing numbers.