From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Unchanging
ἀμετάβλητος; ἄτρεπτος
ametablētos; atreptosAmetablētos denies change.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAmetablētos denies change.
- In StobaeusThe report on Aristotle calls the aetherial fifth body unchanging, distinguishing it from the elemental qualities of generated things.
- In this editionUse “unchanging” for the condition asserted and “unchangeable” when incapacity for change is emphasized.
- A place to beginThe fifth, aetherial body is set apart as unchanging.
- English renderings
- unchanging; unchangeable
Meaning
Ametablētos denies change. Its scope depends on the kind of change excluded and the nature of the subject described.
Use in the book
The report on Aristotle calls the aetherial fifth body unchanging, distinguishing it from the elemental qualities of generated things. A Hermetic account also joins unchangeability to partlessness in its discussion of life and harmony. These uses should not be treated as the claim that all subjects described as unchanging have the same constitution.
Places to read
- I.10.16a.3The fifth, aetherial body is set apart as unchanging.
- I.41.7.4Unchangeability accompanies partlessness in a difficult account of development.
- Arith.8The monad remains unchanged at the lower limit of subtraction.
Translation in this edition
Use “unchanging” for the condition asserted and “unchangeable” when incapacity for change is emphasized.
Unalterable at the limit
Atreptos means unalterable or unchanged. In Arith.8 the monad remains unchanged at the limit of subtraction, since whole units cannot be subtracted beyond it within the account’s conception of number. The term belongs to an argument about arithmetic rest and the name monas, not to a general denial that every physical unit can undergo change.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 21, 128, 290. The subject of the adjective in I.41.7.4 is grammatically uncertain; that limitation does not affect its clear attribution to the aetherial body in I.10.16a.3.
From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Immutability
immutability; unchangeable; Eternal Act
Immutability is unchangeableness.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordImmutability is unchangeableness.
- In TraherneThe preceding meditation describes God as simple being and pure act, without a composition of power and act.
- In this editionKeep the causal sequence: eternal act explains unchangeableness.
- A place to beginDivine simplicity excludes composition from power and act.
Meaning
Immutability is unchangeableness. Traherne explains the divine attribute through complete and eternal activity, so it cannot be understood here as lifeless stillness or unused power.
Use in the book
The preceding meditation describes God as simple being and pure act, without a composition of power and act. The next draws the consequence: no divine power remains unemployed. Infinite power is wholly and eternally exerted, wisely directed towards excellent ends. Traherne joins this account to the generation of the Son and the perfection of love towards creatures. Because the activity is wholly eternal, it is unchangeable. Immutability consequently belongs to the fullness of God’s living operation. It underwrites the expectation of goodness in created things rather than describing a deity withdrawn from them.
Places to read
In this edition
Keep the causal sequence: eternal act explains unchangeableness. Replacing act with inactivity reverses the meditation’s explicit argument.