From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordOptikon pneuma is the breath or pneuma assigned a role in sight.
- In StobaeusChrysippus’s reported account extends this pneuma from the ruling part to the pupil.
- In this edition“Visual breath” preserves the terminology; explain that this is a theoretical account of vision, not simply exhaled air.
- A place to beginVisual pneuma tensions the intervening air in a cone.
- English renderings
- visual breath; visual pneuma
Meaning
Optikon pneuma is the breath or pneuma assigned a role in sight. “Visual stream” is a convenient heading, but the Greek phrase specifies pneuma.
Use in the book
Chrysippus’s reported account extends this pneuma from the ruling part to the pupil. It strikes the intervening air and establishes a shared tension shaped as a cone, provided the air is uniform. Vision thus involves an organized relation between the perceiver and the surrounding medium.
Places to read
- I.52.18Visual pneuma tensions the intervening air in a cone.
Translation in this edition
“Visual breath” preserves the terminology; explain that this is a theoretical account of vision, not simply exhaled air.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 486. The passage does not specify an anatomical seat for the ruling part. Such a location should not be added to this excerpt.