From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordΜονοειδές means single in form or uniform and is applied to the Sphairos in A32.
- In this workThe description of the Sphairos as uniform can suggest the absence of articulated differences at the level of the whole.
- In this edition“Uniform” and “without quality” are not interchangeable translations.
- A place to readApplies μονοειδές to the Sphairos in a heavily supplemented passage.
Meaning
Μονοειδές means single in form or uniform and is applied to the Sphairos in A32. It must be distinguished from ὁμοιομερῆ, “uniform throughout” or like-parted, applied elsewhere to material constituents. The former describes a unified condition; the latter concerns the character of parts.
Use in the book
The description of the Sphairos as uniform can suggest the absence of articulated differences at the level of the whole. It does not, by itself, state that the four roots are annihilated or transmuted. Philoponus’ A41 goes further, alleging that the Sphairos is without quality and that each root loses its proper form. Those stronger claims belong to a polemical interpretation and should not be smuggled into the shorter adjective at A32.
The distinction is especially important because Aëtius also reports “uniform” smallest fragments at A43. Such fragments would preserve sameness at a minute material level, whereas the Sphairos concerns cosmic unification. Calling both homogeneous without explanation could create an unsupported theory connecting atom-like constituents to a perfectly uniform final substance. The source provides the vocabulary for comparing those possibilities, not the demonstration of their identity.
Places to read
- A 32 (testimony)Aëtius I 7,28 (D. 303). Applies μονοειδές to the Sphairos in a heavily supplemented passage.
- A 41 (polemical)Philoponus, In De generatione et corruptione 19,3 Vitelli. Introduces the stronger allegation that the unified state lacks qualities.
- A 43 (testimony)Aëtius I 13,1. Applies like-partedness to the smallest fragments, a different kind of uniformity.
Translation in this edition
“Uniform” and “without quality” are not interchangeable translations. The edition’s modern note treats them as closely related, but the ancient formulations should remain separate.