From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Wave
κῦμα
kumaKyma is a wave or surge.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordKyma is a wave or surge.
- In StobaeusThe account of maritime disturbances distinguishes waves with a returning recoil from those making only a forward thrust.
- In this edition“Wave” is general; “surge” can convey the force of an incursion where appropriate.
- A place to beginAdvancing waves are differentiated by recoil and forward movement.
- English renderings
- wave
Meaning
Kyma is a wave or surge. In descriptions of disaster it can emphasize a mass of advancing water.
Use in the book
The account of maritime disturbances distinguishes waves with a returning recoil from those making only a forward thrust. The examples of Helice and Bura illustrate overwhelming incursions. Waves belong to a broader comparison between disturbances on land, at sea, and in the air.
Places to read
- I.40.1.54Advancing waves are differentiated by recoil and forward movement.
Translation in this edition
“Wave” is general; “surge” can convey the force of an incursion where appropriate.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 268–269. The passage also names unusual marine appearances whose precise identification remains uncertain; they should not be used to impose a single modern disaster model.
From the book
The Green Notebook
Maurice de Guérin · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Waves
vague; vagues; flot; flots; lame; lames; écume
Guérin’s wave vocabulary has several shades.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordGuérin’s wave vocabulary has several shades.
- In GuérinThe storm waves of December 1833 have courses, collisions, and apparent temperaments.
- In this editionIn the December 9 main paragraph lame becomes wave, whereas the 1861 translation also uses breaker.
- A reading distinctionFlots is also used for tears and inward effusions.
Meaning
Guérin’s wave vocabulary has several shades. Vague is the familiar wave; lame can emphasize a long moving body of water or breaker; flot can mean a wave, surge, or flowing abundance. Their force depends upon motion and context, not a rigid glossary equivalence.
Use in the book
The storm waves of December 1833 have courses, collisions, and apparent temperaments. They attack granite, compete to clear reefs, break into foam, and withdraw like rebuffed dogs. The fantastical comparisons are organized by actual differences in movement: some pass over the obstacle, others shatter against it. In the sheltered cove, peaceful waves can sleep while their brothers struggle outside.
The following evening changes the scale from battle to breath. The listeners wait for a wave to recede before breathing again, and Guérin briefly distinguishes the deep voice of its arrival from the thin stony sound of its retreat. Waves thereby provide both an audible rhythm and a discipline of attention.
Later they become inward forces without losing these physical distinctions. In September 1834 an isolated soul is a reef under assault; in October the waves at the edge of thought are surrendered to everyday work while the offshore life remains untouched. The same image can describe threatened survival or protected depth, depending on the observer’s position.
Places to read
- 8 December 1833 · ¶2Varied wave movements generate the battle and animal comparisons
- 8 December 1833 · ¶4The cove makes repose possible within the storm scene
- 9 December 1833 · ¶2The two phases of a wave are distinguished by sound and bodily timing
- 28 September 1834 · ¶1The self becomes a reef under the pressure of an infinite wave
- 22 October 1834 · ¶1A coastal distinction protects the deeper life of thought from daily demands
Translation in this edition
In the December 9 main paragraph lame becomes wave, whereas the 1861 translation also uses breaker. Both represent the same French noun; the translations’ variation must not be mistaken for an added difference between the witnesses.
Source note
Flots is also used for tears and inward effusions. The natural entry supplies the material motion behind these transfers without identifying every plural flot as literal seawater.