From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordὌχημα is a vehicle or carrier; τροφή is nourishment.
- In this workAt A332 Hippolytus says water alone serves as a vehicle of nourishment for nourished beings but cannot sustain them by itself.
- In this editionThe bracketed αἴτιον is treated as a gloss by Diels and deleted by Kranz.
- A place to readExplains Nestis through water’s role as a carrier of nourishment that cannot itself adequately nourish.
Meaning
Ὄχημα is a vehicle or carrier; τροφή is nourishment. The phrase distinguishes carrying food from being sufficient food oneself. It belongs to Hippolytus’ explanation of the divine water-name Nestis.
Use in the book
At A332 Hippolytus says water alone serves as a vehicle of nourishment for nourished beings but cannot sustain them by itself. He argues that, if it could, living creatures would not starve while water remains abundant. The nutritional distinction supplies the wordplay connecting Nestis with fasting: the carrier of food is unable to feed sufficiently on its own.
The account is more than a bare identification of a root. It uses a functional metaphor to explain why the divine name fits water. Its ownership remains uncertain: the notice does not tell us whether this is Empedocles’ explanation, a transmitted interpretation, or Hippolytus’ own reasoning. The edition explicitly leaves that question open.
This headword preserves the functional distinction without endorsing it as a complete account of nutrition. It also prevents the seed-and-water gloss in the parallel Aëtius and Homeric Allegories notices from replacing Hippolytus’ more specific carrier argument.
Places to read
- A 33 (testimony)2Hippolytus, Refutatio VII 29. Explains Nestis through water’s role as a carrier of nourishment that cannot itself adequately nourish.
Translation in this edition
The bracketed αἴτιον is treated as a gloss by Diels and deleted by Kranz. The carrier phrase remains the clearer basis of the explanation; it should not be converted into modern dietary guidance.