From the book
Empedocles’ Complete Fragments, Volume I
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordΔίγονοι is an isolated plural adjective.
- In EmpedoclesThe term invites connection with Empedocles' many double patterns: twofold generation in the cosmic account, two contributions to seed, or repeated reproductive activity.
- In this editionAlternative English lookup labels can help locate the fragment, but “twice-born” must not silently replace the edition’s “twice-bearing.”
- A place to readThe whole printed fragment is the adjective, cited from Proclus.
Meaning
Δίγονοι is an isolated plural adjective. The edition chooses “twice-bearing,” emphasizing a repeated or double generative relation. No noun is printed with it, and the excerpt does not say what beings or structures it qualifies.
Use in the book
The term invites connection with Empedocles' many double patterns: twofold generation in the cosmic account, two contributions to seed, or repeated reproductive activity. Its very brevity makes such connections hazardous. The source as supplied gives only Proclus' Republic commentary as witness; it supplies no explanatory setting that decides among those possible associations.
The proper lexical result is accordingly modest but positive. A word of double generation or bearing belongs to the transmitted Empedoclean vocabulary, and its plurality must be retained. It is not evidence by itself for two embryos, two pregnancies, a particular animal’s breeding season, or a complete theory of reincarnation. Those are propositions requiring additional words.
The entry also illustrates a general distinction between a secure word and an insecure doctrine. There is no need to omit a small fragment simply because it cannot sustain a large interpretation. Recording the translation, grammatical shape, and missing referent gives the reader what this edition can actually establish.
Places to read
- B 69The whole printed fragment is the adjective, cited from Proclus.
Translation in this edition
Alternative English lookup labels can help locate the fragment, but “twice-born” must not silently replace the edition’s “twice-bearing.” The present excerpt does not contain enough context to adjudicate the reproductive direction implied by the compound.