From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAdēlos describes what is not manifest or clear.
- In StobaeusThe Hermetic teacher proposes withholding certain doctrines so that fear of what is unknown will restrain wrongdoing.
- In this edition“Unknown” or “hidden” reads naturally here; “unmanifest” is useful when contrasted directly with what is evident.
- A place to beginFear of the unknown is invoked as a reason for restricted disclosure.
- English renderings
- unmanifest; unclear; unknown
Meaning
Adēlos describes what is not manifest or clear. It can concern uncertainty in knowledge rather than an object’s intrinsic invisibility.
Use in the book
The Hermetic teacher proposes withholding certain doctrines so that fear of what is unknown will restrain wrongdoing. The unknown is therefore defined by the hearers’ limited understanding. Its ethical effect belongs to the teacher’s argument and does not imply that every hidden matter is fearful by nature.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Unknown” or “hidden” reads naturally here; “unmanifest” is useful when contrasted directly with what is evident.
What is manifest
Phaneros means manifest, apparent, or clear. In the conversation with Euthydemus at I.1.37a, the moon makes the divisions of the month clear. Manifestness is something available to observation or understanding in that argument. It does not necessarily mean a special revelation of an otherwise inaccessible reality.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 46, 278. The passage preserves the teacher’s stated rationale without presenting it as a universal principle of education.