The Presocratic Reader

Melissus

DK 30

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Original textTranslation
DK 30 B 1

Available translations: English

ἀεὶ ἦν ὅ τι ἦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται. εἰ γὰρ ἐγένετο, ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι πρὶν γενέσθαι εἶναι μηδέν· εἰ τοίνυν μηδὲν ἦν, οὐδαμὰ ἂν γένοιτο οὐδὲν ἐκ μηδενός.

What was was ever, and ever shall be. For, if it had come into being, it needs must have been nothing before it came into being. Now, if it were nothing, in no wise could anything have arisen out of nothing.

John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908)
How this fragment survives
  • Simplicius

    Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics · 34 v 162, 24

    Citation in the source record

    Phys. 34 v 162, 24.

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ( a ) Fragments of Melissos mainly from Simplicius on the Physics.

    Compared the Greek of 30-B-1 with Fairbanks’ Melissos fragment 6; the numbering is not assumed to be identical.

    Passage correspondence

    Phys. 34 v 162, 24. (Fr. 6.) ἀεὶ ἦν ὅ τι ἦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται. εἰ γὰρ ἐγένετο, ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι πρὶν γενέσθαι εἶναι μηδέν. †εἰ τύχοι νῦν μηδὲν ἦν, οὐδαμὰ ἂν γένοιτο οὐδὲν ἐκ μηδενός.

    Check the source record ↗

    Fairbanks (1898) records this source for Melissos fragment 6, corresponding to part or all of this passage. The selected translation may use a different text or arrangement.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Greek content compared with the published translation. Original published wording retained; reference numbers, page/line numbers and footnote callouts removed. Complete Burnet fragment; not the spurious Graeco-Syriac B12. Burnet’s supplemental 1a and 6a are excluded from this concordance

Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately View original source ↗

English: John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908) Published translation ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 30 B 2

Available translations: English

ὅτε τοίνυν οὐκ ἐγένετο, ἔστι τε καὶ ἀεὶ ἦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται, καὶ ἀρχὴν οὐκ ἔχει οὐδὲ τελευτήν, ἀλλ’ ἄπειρόν ἐστιν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐγένετο, ἀρχὴν ἂν εἶχεν (ἤρξατο γὰρ ἄν ποτε γενόμενον) καὶ τελευτήν (ἐτελεύτησε γὰρ ἄν ποτε γενόμενον)· εἰ δὲ μήτε ἤρξατο μήτε ἐτελεύτησεν ἀεί τε ἦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται, οὐκ ἔχει ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ τελευτήν. οὐ γὰρ ἀεὶ εἶναι ἀνυστόν, ὅ τι μὴ πᾶν ἔστι.

Since, then, it has not come into being, and since it is, was ever, and ever shall be, it has no beginning or end, but is without limit. For, if it had come into being, it would have had a beginning (for it would have begun to come into being at some time or other) and an end (for it would have ceased to come into being at some time or other); but, if it neither began nor ended, and ever was and ever shall be, it has no beginning or end; for it is not possible for anything to be ever without all being.

John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908)
How this fragment survives
  • Simplicius

    Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics · 23 v 109, 20

    Citation in the source record

    Simpl. Phys. 23 v 109, 20

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ( a ) Fragments of Melissos mainly from Simplicius on the Physics.

    Compared the Greek of 30-B-2 with Fairbanks’ Melissos fragment 7; the numbering is not assumed to be identical.

    Passage correspondence

    Simpl. Phys. 23 v 109, 20 (Fr. 7). ὅτε τοίνυν οὐκ ἐγένετο, ἔστι δέ, ἀεὶ ἦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται καὶ ἀρχὴν οὐκ ἔχει οὐδὲ τελευτήν, ἄλλ’ ἄπειρόν ἐστιν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐγένετο, ἀρχὴν ἂν εἶχεν· ἤρξατο γὰρ ἄν ποτε γινόμενον· καὶ τελευτήν· ἐτελεύτησε γὰρ ἄν ποτε γινόμενον· εἰ δὲ μήτε ἤρξατο μήτε ἐτελεύτησεν ἀεί τε ἦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται, οὐκ ἔχει ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ τελευτήν· οὐ γὰρ ἀεὶ εἶναι ἀνυστὸν ὅ τι μὴ πᾶν ἐστι. l. 31. (Fr. 8.) ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ ἔστιν ἀεί, οὕτω καὶ τὸ μέγεθος ἄπειρον ἀεὶ χρὴ εἶναι. l. 33. (Fr. 15.) εἰ γὰρ διῄρηται τὸ ἐόν, κινεῖται. κινούμενον δὲ οὐκ ἂν εἴη ἅμα.

    Check the source record ↗

    Fairbanks (1898) records this source for Melissos fragment 7, corresponding to part or all of this passage. The selected translation may use a different text or arrangement.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Greek content compared with the published translation. Original published wording retained; reference numbers, page/line numbers and footnote callouts removed. Complete Burnet fragment; not the spurious Graeco-Syriac B12. Burnet’s supplemental 1a and 6a are excluded from this concordance

Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately View original source ↗

English: John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908) Published translation ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 30 B 3

Available translations: English

ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ ἔστιν ἀεί, οὕτω καὶ τὸ μέγεθος ἄπειρον ἀεὶ χρὴ εἶναι.

Further, just as it ever is, so it must ever be infinite in magnitude.

John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908)
How this fragment survives
  • Simplicius

    Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics · 109, 31

    Citation in the source record

    l. 31. (Fr. 8.)

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ( a ) Fragments of Melissos mainly from Simplicius on the Physics.
    • Simpl. Phys. 23 v 109, 20

    Compared the Greek of 30-B-3 with Fairbanks’ Melissos fragment 8; the numbering is not assumed to be identical.

    Passage correspondence

    Simpl. Phys. 23 v 109, 20 (Fr. 7). ὅτε τοίνυν οὐκ ἐγένετο, ἔστι δέ, ἀεὶ ἦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται καὶ ἀρχὴν οὐκ ἔχει οὐδὲ τελευτήν, ἄλλ’ ἄπειρόν ἐστιν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐγένετο, ἀρχὴν ἂν εἶχεν· ἤρξατο γὰρ ἄν ποτε γινόμενον· καὶ τελευτήν· ἐτελεύτησε γὰρ ἄν ποτε γινόμενον· εἰ δὲ μήτε ἤρξατο μήτε ἐτελεύτησεν ἀεί τε ἦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται, οὐκ ἔχει ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ τελευτήν· οὐ γὰρ ἀεὶ εἶναι ἀνυστὸν ὅ τι μὴ πᾶν ἐστι. l. 31. (Fr. 8.) ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ ἔστιν ἀεί, οὕτω καὶ τὸ μέγεθος ἄπειρον ἀεὶ χρὴ εἶναι. l. 33. (Fr. 15.) εἰ γὰρ διῄρηται τὸ ἐόν, κινεῖται. κινούμενον δὲ οὐκ ἂν εἴη ἅμα.

    Check the source record ↗

    Fairbanks (1898) records this source for Melissos fragment 8, corresponding to part or all of this passage. The selected translation may use a different text or arrangement. An abbreviated line number is resolved against the explicitly preceding page citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Greek content compared with the published translation. Original published wording retained; reference numbers, page/line numbers and footnote callouts removed. Complete Burnet fragment; not the spurious Graeco-Syriac B12. Burnet’s supplemental 1a and 6a are excluded from this concordance

Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately View original source ↗

English: John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908) Published translation ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 30 B 4

Available translations: English

ἀρχήν τε καὶ τέλος ἔχον οὐδὲν οὔτε ἀίδιον οὔτε ἄπειρόν ἐστιν.

But nothing which has a beginning or end is either eternal or infinite.

John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908)
How this fragment survives
  • Simplicius

    Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics · 110, 3

    Citation in the source record

    l. 3. (Fr. 9.)

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ( a ) Fragments of Melissos mainly from Simplicius on the Physics.
    • Phys. 24 r 110, 1.

    Compared the Greek of 30-B-4 with Fairbanks’ Melissos fragment 9; the numbering is not assumed to be identical.

    Passage correspondence

    Phys. 24 r 110, 1. (Fr. 16.) εἰ μὲν ὂν εἴη, δεῖ αὐτὸ ἓν εἶναι· ἓν δὲ ὂν δεῖ αὐτὸ σῶμα μὴ ἔχειν. (19 r 87, 6) εἰ δὲ ἔχοι πάθος, ἔχοι ἂν μόρια καὶ οὐκέτι ἓν εἴη. l. 3. (Fr. 9.) ἀρχήν τε καὶ τέλος ἔχον οὐδὲν οὔτε ἀίδιον οὔτε ἄπειρόν ἐστιν. l. 5. (Fr. 10.) εἰ μὴ ἓν εἴη, περανεῖ πρὸς ἄλλο.

    Check the source record ↗

    Fairbanks (1898) records this source for Melissos fragment 9, corresponding to part or all of this passage. The selected translation may use a different text or arrangement. An abbreviated line number is resolved against the explicitly preceding page citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Greek content compared with the published translation. Original published wording retained; reference numbers, page/line numbers and footnote callouts removed. Complete Burnet fragment; not the spurious Graeco-Syriac B12. Burnet’s supplemental 1a and 6a are excluded from this concordance

Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately View original source ↗

English: John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908) Published translation ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 30 B 5

Available translations: English

εἰ μὴ ἓν εἴη, περανεῖ πρὸς ἄλλο.

If it were not one, it would be bounded by something else.

John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908)
How this fragment survives
  • Simplicius

    Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics · 110, 5

    Citation in the source record

    l. 5. (Fr. 10.)

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ( a ) Fragments of Melissos mainly from Simplicius on the Physics.
    • Phys. 24 r 110, 1.

    Compared the Greek of 30-B-5 with Fairbanks’ Melissos fragment 10; the numbering is not assumed to be identical.

    Passage correspondence

    Phys. 24 r 110, 1. (Fr. 16.) εἰ μὲν ὂν εἴη, δεῖ αὐτὸ ἓν εἶναι· ἓν δὲ ὂν δεῖ αὐτὸ σῶμα μὴ ἔχειν. (19 r 87, 6) εἰ δὲ ἔχοι πάθος, ἔχοι ἂν μόρια καὶ οὐκέτι ἓν εἴη. l. 3. (Fr. 9.) ἀρχήν τε καὶ τέλος ἔχον οὐδὲν οὔτε ἀίδιον οὔτε ἄπειρόν ἐστιν. l. 5. (Fr. 10.) εἰ μὴ ἓν εἴη, περανεῖ πρὸς ἄλλο.

    Check the source record ↗

    Fairbanks (1898) records this source for Melissos fragment 10, corresponding to part or all of this passage. The selected translation may use a different text or arrangement. An abbreviated line number is resolved against the explicitly preceding page citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Greek content compared with the published translation. Original published wording retained; reference numbers, page/line numbers and footnote callouts removed. Complete Burnet fragment; not the spurious Graeco-Syriac B12. Burnet’s supplemental 1a and 6a are excluded from this concordance

Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately View original source ↗

English: John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908) Published translation ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 30 B 6

Available translations: English

εἰ γὰρ εἴη, ἓν εἴη ἄν· εἰ γὰρ δύο εἴη, οὐκ ἂν δύναιτο ἄπειρα εἶναι, ἀλλ’ ἔχοι ἂν πείρατα πρὸς ἄλληλα.

For if it is (infinite), it must be one; for if it were two, it could not be infinite; for then they would be bounded by one another.

John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908)
How this fragment survives

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading.

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading in the reviewed records. The linked edition remains available below.

Original-text edition
Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Greek content compared with the published translation. Original published wording retained; reference numbers, page/line numbers and footnote callouts removed. Complete Burnet fragment; not the spurious Graeco-Syriac B12. Burnet’s supplemental 1a and 6a are excluded from this concordance

Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately View original source ↗

English: John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908) Published translation ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 30 B 7

Available translations: English

οὕτως οὖν ἀίδιόν ἐστι καὶ ἄπειρον καὶ ἓν καὶ ὅμοιον πᾶν. καὶ οὔτ’ ἂν ἀπόλοιτο οὔτε μεῖζον γίνοιτο οὔτε μετακοσμέοιτο οὔτε ἀλγεῖ οὔτε ἀνιᾶται· εἰ γάρ τι τούτων πάσχοι, οὐκ ἂν ἔτι ἓν εἴη. εἰ γὰρ ἑτεροιοῦται, ἀνάγκη τὸ ἐὸν μὴ ὁμοῖον εἶναι, ἀλλὰ ἀπόλλυσθαι τὸ πρόσθεν ἐόν, τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἐὸν γίνεσθαι. εἰ τοίνυν τριχὶ μιῆι μυρίοις ἔτεσιν ἑτεροῖον γίνοιτο τὸ πᾶν, ὀλεῖται ἂν ἐν τῶι παντὶ χρόνωι. ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ μετακοσμηθῆναι ἀνυστόν· ὁ γὰρ κόσμος ὁ πρόσθεν ἐὼν οὐκ ἀπόλλυται οὔτε ὁ μὴ ἐὼν γίνεται. ὅτε δὲ μήτε προσγίνεται μηδὲν μήτε ἀπόλλυται μήτε ἑτεροιοῦται, πῶς ἂν μετακοσμηθὲν τῶν ἐόντων εἴη; εἰ μὲν γάρ τι ἐγίνετο ἑτεροῖον, ἤδη ἂν καὶ μετακοσμηθείη.
οὐδὲ ἀλγεῖ· οὐ γὰρ ἂν πᾶν εἴη ἀλγέον (οὐ γὰρ ἂν δύναιτο ἀεὶ εἶναι χρῆμα ἀλγέον), οὐδὲ ἔχει ἴσην δύναμιν τῶι ὑγιεῖ. οὐδ’ ἂν ὁμοῖον εἴη, εἰ ἀλγέοι· ἀπογινομένου γάρ τευ ἂν ἀλγέοι ἢ προσγινομένου, κοὐκ ἂν ἔτι ὁμοῖον εἴη. οὐδ’ ἂν τὸ ὑγιὲς ἀλγῆσαι δύναιτο· ἀπὸ γὰρ ἂν ὄλοιτο τὸ ὑγιὲς καὶ τὸ ἐόν, τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἐὸν γένοιτο. καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἀνιᾶσθαι ὡυτὸς λόγος τῶι ἀλγέοντι. οὐδὲ κενεόν ἐστιν οὐδέν· τὸ γὰρ κενεὸν οὐδέν ἐστιν· οὐκ ἂν οὖν εἴη τό γε μηδέν· οὐδὲ κινεῖται· ὑποχωρῆσαι γὰρ οὐκ ἔχει οὐδαμῆι, ἀλλὰ πλέων ἐστίν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ κενεὸν ἦν, ὑπεχώρει ἂν εἰς τὸ κενόν· κενοῦ δὲ μὴ ἐόντος οὐκ ἔχει ὅκηι ὑποχωρήσει. πυκνὸν δὲ καὶ ἀραιὸν οὐκ ἂν εἴη.
τὸ γὰρ ἀραιὸν οὐκ ἀνυστὸν πλέων εἶναι ὁμοίως τῶι πυκνῶι, ἀλλ’ ἤδη τὸ ἀραιόν γε κενεώτερον γίνεται τοῦ πυκνοῦ. κρίσιν δὲ ταύτην χρὴ ποιήσασθαι τοῦ πλέω καὶ τοῦ μὴ πλέω· εἰ μὲν οὖν χωρεῖ τι ἢ εἰσδέχεται, οὐ πλέων· εἰ δὲ μήτε χωρεῖ μήτε εἰσδέχεται, πλέων. ἀνάγκη τοίνυν πλέων εἶναι, εἰ κενὸν μὴ ἔστιν. εἰ τοίνυν πλέων ἐστίν, οὐ κινεῖται.

So then it is eternal and infinite and one and all alike. And it cannot perish nor become greater, nor does it suffer pain or grief. For, if any of these things happened to it, it would no longer be one. For if it is altered, then the real must needs not be all alike, but what was before must pass away, and what was not must come into being. Now, if it changed by so much as a single hair in ten thousand years, it would all perish in the whole of time.

Further, it is not possible either that its order should be changed; for the order which it had before does not perish, nor does that which was not come into being. But, since nothing is either added to it or passes away or is altered, how can any real thing have had its order changed? For if anything became different, that would amount to a change in its order.

Nor does it suffer pain; for a thing in pain could not all be. For a thing in pain could not be ever, nor has it the same power as what is whole. Nor would it be alike, if it were in pain; for it is only from the addition or subtraction of something that it could feel pain, and then it would no longer be alike. Nor could what is whole feel pain; for then what was whole and what was real would pass away, and what was not would come into being. And the same argument applies to grief as to pain.

Nor is anything empty. For what is empty is nothing. What is nothing cannot be.

Nor does it move; for it has nowhere to betake itself to, but is full. For if there were aught empty, it would betake itself to the empty. But, since there is naught empty, it has nowhere to betake itself to.

And it cannot be dense and rare; for it is not possible for what is rare to be as full as what is dense, but what is rare is at once emptier than what is dense.

This is the way in which we must distinguish between what is full and what is not full. If a thing has room for anything else, and takes it in, it is not full; but if it has no room for anything and does not take it in, it is full.

Now, it must needs be full if there is naught empty, and if it is full, it does not move.

John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908)
How this fragment survives
  • Simplicius

    Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics · 247 r 111, 19

    Citation in the source record

    Phys. 247 r 111, 19.

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ( a ) Fragments of Melissos mainly from Simplicius on the Physics.

    Compared the Greek of 30-B-7 with Fairbanks’ Melissos fragment 11–14; the numbering is not assumed to be identical.

    Passage correspondence

    Phys. 247 r 111, 19. (Fr. 11.) οὕτως οὖν ἀίδιόν ἐστι καὶ ἄπειρον· καὶ ἓν καὶ ὅμοιον πᾶν. καὶ οὔτ’ ἂν ἀπόλοιτο οὔτε μεῖζον γίνοιτο οὔτε μετακοσμέοιτο οὔτε ἀλγεῖ οὔτε ἀνιᾶται. εἰ γάρ τι τούτων πάσχοι, οὐκ ἂν ἔτι ἓν εἴη. εἰ γὰρ ἑτεροιοῦται, ἀνάγκη τὸ ἐὸν μὴ ὅμοιον εἶναι, ἀλλὰ ἀπόλλυσθαι τὸ πρόσθεν ἐόν, τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἐὸν γίνεσθαι. εἰ τοίνυν τριχὶ μιῇ μυρίοις ἔτεσιν ἑτεροῖον γίνοιτο τὸ πᾶν, [122] ὀλεῖται ἂν ἐν τῷ παντὶ χρόνῳ. l. 24. (Fr. 12.) ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ μετακοσμηθῆναι ἀνυστόν· ὁ γὰρ κόσμος ὁ πρόσθεν ἐὼν οὐκ ἀπόλλυται οὔτε ὁ μὴ ἐὼν γίνεται. ὅτε δὲ μήτε προσγίνεται μηδὲν μήτε ἀπόλλυται μήτε ἑτεροιοῦται, πῶς ἂν μετακοσμηθὲν τῶν ἐόντων τι ᾖ; εἰ μὲν γάρ τι ἐγίνετο ἑτεροῖον, ἤδη ἂν καὶ μετακοσμηθείη· οὐδὲ ἀλγεῖ οὐ γὰρ ἂν πᾶν εἴη ἀλγέον· οὐ γὰρ ἂν δύναιτο ἀεὶ εἶναι χρῆμα ἀλγέον οὐδὲ ἔχει ἴσην δύναμιν τῷ ὑγιεῖ· οὔτ’ ἂν ὅμοιον εἴη, εἰ ἀλγέοι· ἀπογινομένου γάρ τευ ἂν ἀλγέοι ἢ προσγινομένου, κοὐκ ἂν ἔτι ὅμοιον εἴη. οὐδ’ ἂν τὸ ὑγιὲς ἀλγῆσαι δύναιτο· ἀπὸ γὰρ ἂν ὄλοιτο τὸ ὑγιὲς καὶ τὸ ἐὸν, τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἐὸν γένοιτο. καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἀνιᾶσθαι ωὑτὸς λόγος τῷ ἀλγέοντι. l. 6. (Fr. 14.) οὐδὲ κενεόν ἐστιν οὐδέν· τὸ γὰρ κενεὸν οὐδέν ἐστιν· οὐκ ἂν οὖν εἴη τό γε μηδέν. οὐδὲ κινεῖται· ὑποχωρῆσαι γὰρ οὐκ ἔχει οὐδαμῇ, ἀλλὰ πλέων ἐστίν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ κενεὸν ἦν, ὑπεχωρεῖ ἂν εἰς τὸ κενόν· κενοῦ δὲ μὴ ἐόντος οὐκ ἔχει ὅκῃ ὑποχωρήσει. πυκνὸν δὲ καὶ ἀραιὸν οὐκ ἂν εἴη· τὸ γὰρ ἀραιὸν οὐκ ἀνυστὸν πλέων εἶναι ὁμοίως τῷ πυκνῷ, ἀλλ’ ἤδη τὸ ἀραιόν γε κενεώτερον γίνεται τοῦ πυκνοῦ. κρίσιν δὲ ταύτην χρὴ ποιήσασθαι τοῦ πλέω καὶ τοῦ μὴ πλέω· εἰ μὲν οὖν χωρεῖ τι ἢ εἰσδέχεται, οὐ πλέων· εἰ δὲ μήτε χωρεῖ μήτε εἰσδέχεται, πλέων. ἀνάγκη τοίνυν πλέων εἶναι, εἰ κενὸν μὴ ἔστιν. εἰ τοίνυν πλέων ἐστίν, οὐ κινεῖται.

    Check the source record ↗

    Fairbanks (1898) records this source for Melissos fragment 11–14, corresponding to part or all of this passage. The selected translation may use a different text or arrangement.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Greek content compared with the published translation. Original published wording retained; reference numbers, page/line numbers and footnote callouts removed. Complete Burnet fragment; not the spurious Graeco-Syriac B12. Burnet’s supplemental 1a and 6a are excluded from this concordance

Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately View original source ↗

English: John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908) Published translation ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 30 B 8

Available translations: English

μέγιστον μὲν οὖν σημεῖον οὗτος ὁ λόγος, ὅτι ἓν μόνον ἔστιν· ἀτὰρ καὶ τάδε σημεῖα. εἰ γὰρ ἦν πολλά, τοιαῦτα χρὴ αὐτὰ εἶναι, οἷόν περ ἐγώ φημι τὸ ἓν εἶναι. εἰ γὰρ ἔστι γῆ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ ἀὴρ καὶ πῦρ καὶ σίδηρος καὶ χρυσός, καὶ τὸ μὲν ζῶον τὸ δὲ τεθνηκός, καὶ μέλαν καὶ λευκὸν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα, ὅσα φασὶν οἱ ἄνθρωποι εἶναι ἀληθῆ, εἰ δὴ ταῦτα ἔστι, καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀρθῶς ὁρῶμεν καὶ ἀκούομεν, εἶναι χρὴ ἕκαστον τοιοῦτον, οἷόν περ τὸ πρῶτον ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν, καὶ μὴ μεταπίπτειν μηδὲ γίνεσθαι ἑτεροῖον, ἀλλὰ ἀεὶ εἶναι ἕκαστον, οἷόν περ ἐστίν· νῦν δέ φαμεν ὀρθῶς ὁρᾶν καὶ ἀκούειν καὶ συνιέναι.
δοκεῖ δὲ ἡμῖν τό τε θερμὸν ψυχρὸν γίνεσθαι καὶ τὸ ψυχρὸν θερμὸν καὶ τὸ σκληρὸν μαλθακὸν καὶ τὸ μαλθακὸν σκληρὸν καὶ τὸ ζῶον ἀποθνήισκειν καὶ ἐκ μὴ ζῶντος γίνεσθαι, καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ἑτεροιοῦσθαι, καὶ ὅ τι ἦν τε καὶ ὃ νῦν οὐδὲν ὁμοῖον εἶναι, ἀλλ’ ὅ τε σίδηρος σκληρὸς ἐὼν τῶι δακτύλωι κατατρίβεσθαι ὁμοῦ ῥέων, καὶ χρυσὸς καὶ λίθος καὶ ἄλλο ὅ τι ἰσχυρὸν δοκεῖ εἶναι πᾶν, ἐξ ὕδατός τε γῆ καὶ λίθος γίνεσθαι· ὥστε συμβαίνει μήτε ὁρᾶν μήτε τὰ ὄντα γινώσκειν. οὐ τοίνυν ταῦτα ἀλλήλοις ὁμολογεῖ. φαμένοις γὰρ εἶναι πολλὰ καὶ ἀίδια καὶ εἴδη τε καὶ ἰσχὺν ἔχοντα πάντα ἑτεροιοῦσθαι ἡμῖν δοκεῖ καὶ μεταπίπτειν ἐκ τοῦ ἑκάστοτε ὁρωμένου.
δῆλον τοίνυν, ὅτι οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἑωρῶμεν, οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνα πολλὰ ὀρθῶς δοκεῖ εἶναι· οὐ γὰρ ἂν μετέπιπτεν, εἰ ἀληθῆ ἦν· ἀλλ’ ἦν οἷόν περ ἐδόκει ἕκαστον τοιοῦτον. τοῦ γὰρ ἐόντος ἀληθινοῦ κρεῖσσον οὐδέν. ἢν δὲ μεταπέσηι, τὸ μὲν ἐὸν ἀπώλετο, τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἐὸν γέγονεν. οὕτως οὖν, εἰ πολλὰ εἴη, τοιαῦτα χρὴ εἶναι, οἷόν περ τὸ ἕν.

This argument, then, is the greatest proof that it is one alone; but the following are proofs of it also. If there were a many, these would have to be of the same kind as I say that the one is. For if there is earth and water, and air and iron, and gold and fire, and if one thing is living and another dead, and if things are black and white and all that men say they really are,—if that is so, and if we see and hear aright, each one of these must be such as we first decided, and they cannot be changed or altered, but each must be just as it is. But, as it is, we say that we see and hear and understand aright, and yet we believe that what is warm becomes cold, and what is cold warm; that what is hard turns soft, and what is soft hard; that what is living dies, and that things are born from what lives not; and that all those things are changed, and that what they were and what they are now are in no way alike. We think that iron, which is hard, is rubbed away by contact with the finger; and so with gold and stone and everything which we fancy to be strong, and that earth and stone are made out of water; so that it turns out that we neither see nor know realities. Now these things do not agree with one another. We said that there were many things that were eternal and had forms and strength of their own, and yet we fancy that they all suffer alteration, and that they change from what we see each time. It is clear, then, that we did not see aright after all, nor are we right in believing that all these things are many. They would not change if they were real, but each thing would be just what we believed it to be; for nothing is stronger than true reality. But if it has changed, what was has passed away, and what was not is come into being. So then, if there were many things, they would have to be just of the same nature as the one.

John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908)
How this fragment survives
  • Simplicius

    Commentary on Aristotle’s On the Heavens · 137 r

    Citation in the source record

    Simpl. de Coelo , 137 r

    Compared the Greek of 30-B-8 with Fairbanks’ Melissos fragment 17; the numbering is not assumed to be identical.

    Passage correspondence

    Simpl. de Coelo , 137 r; Schol. Aristot. 509 b 18; cf. Aristokl. Euseb. Pr. Ev. xiv. 17. (Fr. 17.) μέγιστον μὲν οὖν σημεῖον οὗτος ὁ λόγος ὅτι ἓν μόνον ἐστίν. ἀτὰρ καὶ τάδε σημεῖα· εἰ γὰρ ἦν πολλὰ, τοιαῦτα χρῆν αὐτὰ εἶναι, οἷόν περ ἐγώ φημι τὸ ἓν εἶναι. εἰ γὰρ ἔστι γῆ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ ἀὴρ καὶ σίδηρος καὶ χρυσὸς καὶ πῦρ καὶ τὸ μὲν ζῷον τὸ δὲ τεθνηκὸς καὶ μέλαν καὶ λευκὸν καὶ τὰ ὅσα φασὶν οἱ ἄνθρωποι εἶναι ἀληθῆ,—εἰ δὴ ταῦτα ἔστι καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀρθῶς ὁρῶμεν καὶ ἀκούομεν, εἶναι χρὴ ἕκαστον τοιοῦτον οἷόν περ τὸ πρῶτον ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν, καὶ μὴ μεταπίπτειν μηδὲ γίνεσθαι ἑτεροῖον, ἀλλ’ αἰεὶ εἶναι ἕκαστον οἷόν περ ἔστιν. νῦν δέ φαμεν ὀρθῶς ὁρᾷν καὶ ἀκούειν καὶ συνιέναι, δοκεῖ δὲ ἡμῖν τό τε θερμὸν ψυχρὸν γίνεσθαι καὶ τὸ ψυχρὸν θερμὸν καὶ τὸ σκληρὸν μαλθακὸν καὶ τὸ μαλθακὸν σκληρὸν, καὶ τὸ ζῷον ἀποθνήσκειν καὶ ἐκ μὴ ζῶντος γίνεσθαι, καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ἑτεροιοῦσθαι, καὶ ὅ τι ἦν τε καὶ ὃ νῦν οὐδὲν ὅμοιον εἶναι, ἀλλ’ ὅ τε σίδηρος σκληρὸς ἐὼν τῷ δακτύλῳ κατατρίβεσθαι † ὁμοῦ ῥέων καὶ χρυσὸς καὶ λίθος καὶ ἄλλο ὅ τι ἰσχυρὸν δοκεῖ εἶναι πᾶν, ὥστε συμβαίνει μήτε ὁρᾷν μήτε τὰ ὄντα γινώσκειν· ἐξ ὕδατός τε γῆ καὶ λίθος γίνεσθαι. οὐ τοίνυν ταῦτα ἀλλήλοις ὁμολογεῖ· φαμένοις γὰρ εἶναι πολλὰ καὶ ἀίδια καὶ εἴδη τε καὶ ἴσχυν ἔχοντα, πάντα ἑτεροιοῦσθαι ἡμῖν δοκεῖ καὶ μεταπίπτειν ἐκ τοῦ ἑκάστοτε ὁρωμένου· δῆλον τοίνυν ὅτι οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἑωρῶμεν οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνα πολλὰ ὀρθῶς δοκεῖ εἶναι. οὐ γὰρ ἂν μετέπιπτεν εἰ ἀληθῆ ἦν, ἀλλ’ ἦν οἷόν περ ἐδόκει ἕκαστον τοιοῦτον· τοῦ γὰρ ἐόντος ἀληθινοῦ κρεῖσσον οὐδέν. ἢν δὲ μεταπέσῃ, τὸ μὲν ἐὸν ἀπώλετο, τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἐὸν γέγονεν. οὕτως οὖν εἰ πολλὰ εἴη, τοιαῦτα χρὴ εἶναι οἷόν περ τὸ ἕν.

    Check the source record ↗

    Fairbanks (1898) records this source for Melissos fragment 17, corresponding to part or all of this passage. The selected translation may use a different text or arrangement.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Greek content compared with the published translation. Original published wording retained; reference numbers, page/line numbers and footnote callouts removed. Complete Burnet fragment; not the spurious Graeco-Syriac B12. Burnet’s supplemental 1a and 6a are excluded from this concordance

Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately View original source ↗

English: John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908) Published translation ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 30 B 9

Available translations: English

εἰ μὲν οὖν εἴη, δεῖ αὐτὸ ἓν εἶναι· ἓν δὲ ὂν δεῖ αὐτὸ σῶμα μὴ ἔχειν. ⟨εἰ δὲ ἔχοι πάχος, ἔχοι ἂν μόρια, καὶ οὐκέτι ἓν εἴη⟩.

Now, if it were to exist, it must needs be one; but if it is one, it cannot have body; for, if it had body it would have parts, and would no longer be one.

John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908)
How this fragment survives
  • Simplicius

    Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics · 24 r 110, 1

    Citation in the source record

    Phys. 24 r 110, 1.

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ( a ) Fragments of Melissos mainly from Simplicius on the Physics.

    Compared the Greek of 30-B-9 with Fairbanks’ Melissos fragment 16; the numbering is not assumed to be identical.

    Passage correspondence

    Phys. 24 r 110, 1. (Fr. 16.) εἰ μὲν ὂν εἴη, δεῖ αὐτὸ ἓν εἶναι· ἓν δὲ ὂν δεῖ αὐτὸ σῶμα μὴ ἔχειν. (19 r 87, 6) εἰ δὲ ἔχοι πάθος, ἔχοι ἂν μόρια καὶ οὐκέτι ἓν εἴη. l. 3. (Fr. 9.) ἀρχήν τε καὶ τέλος ἔχον οὐδὲν οὔτε ἀίδιον οὔτε ἄπειρόν ἐστιν. l. 5. (Fr. 10.) εἰ μὴ ἓν εἴη, περανεῖ πρὸς ἄλλο.

    Check the source record ↗

    Fairbanks (1898) records this source for Melissos fragment 16, corresponding to part or all of this passage. The selected translation may use a different text or arrangement.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Greek content compared with the published translation. Original published wording retained; reference numbers, page/line numbers and footnote callouts removed. Complete Burnet fragment; not the spurious Graeco-Syriac B12. Burnet’s supplemental 1a and 6a are excluded from this concordance

Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately View original source ↗

English: John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908) Published translation ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 30 B 10

Available translations: English

εἰ γὰρ διήιρηται, φησί, τὸ ἐόν, κινεῖται· κινούμενον δὲ οὐκ ἂν εἴη.

If what is real is divided, it moves; but if it moves, it cannot be.

John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908)
How this fragment survives
  • Simplicius

    Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics · 109, 33

    Citation in the source record

    l. 33. (Fr. 15.)

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ( a ) Fragments of Melissos mainly from Simplicius on the Physics.
    • Simpl. Phys. 23 v 109, 20

    Compared the Greek of 30-B-10 with Fairbanks’ Melissos fragment 15; the numbering is not assumed to be identical.

    Passage correspondence

    Simpl. Phys. 23 v 109, 20 (Fr. 7). ὅτε τοίνυν οὐκ ἐγένετο, ἔστι δέ, ἀεὶ ἦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται καὶ ἀρχὴν οὐκ ἔχει οὐδὲ τελευτήν, ἄλλ’ ἄπειρόν ἐστιν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐγένετο, ἀρχὴν ἂν εἶχεν· ἤρξατο γὰρ ἄν ποτε γινόμενον· καὶ τελευτήν· ἐτελεύτησε γὰρ ἄν ποτε γινόμενον· εἰ δὲ μήτε ἤρξατο μήτε ἐτελεύτησεν ἀεί τε ἦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἔσται, οὐκ ἔχει ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ τελευτήν· οὐ γὰρ ἀεὶ εἶναι ἀνυστὸν ὅ τι μὴ πᾶν ἐστι. l. 31. (Fr. 8.) ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ ἔστιν ἀεί, οὕτω καὶ τὸ μέγεθος ἄπειρον ἀεὶ χρὴ εἶναι. l. 33. (Fr. 15.) εἰ γὰρ διῄρηται τὸ ἐόν, κινεῖται. κινούμενον δὲ οὐκ ἂν εἴη ἅμα.

    Check the source record ↗

    Fairbanks (1898) records this source for Melissos fragment 15, corresponding to part or all of this passage. The selected translation may use a different text or arrangement. An abbreviated line number is resolved against the explicitly preceding page citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Greek content compared with the published translation. Original published wording retained; reference numbers, page/line numbers and footnote callouts removed. Complete Burnet fragment; not the spurious Graeco-Syriac B12. Burnet’s supplemental 1a and 6a are excluded from this concordance

Original text: Diels fragment text as transcribed by Forage (CC BY-SA4.0), with the quotation boundaries and adaptations stated in the notes. Published English is credited separately View original source ↗

English: John Burnet · Early Greek Philosophy, second edition (1908) Published translation ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 30 B 11

Available translations: German

ἔστιν ἃ ἐγένετο, καὶ νῦν ἔσται.

Was geworden, ist und wird immerdar sein.

German · Hermann Diels · Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 2. Auflage, Band I (1906)
How this fragment survives
  • Palaephatus

    On Unbelievable Tales · prologue

    Citation in the source record

    Palaephatus, De incredibilibus, prologue

    Check the source record ↗

    Festa’s 1902 text is the retained Greek source. Diels includes the attribution to Melissus among spurious fragments; it is not an authenticated quotation from Melissus.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Palaephatus, De incredibilibus, prologue, ed.Nicola Festa, Mythographi Graeci 3.2 (Leipzig:Teubner, 1902), p 2; First 1KGreek transcription.
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Existing human translation retained verbatim; historical original-language passage covers the same translated quotation.

The paired Greek already follows Festa 1902, now independently verified. Dossier is replaced with Festa’s complete carrier sentence, without the later supplied ἀεί. The retained Diels German is a historical interpretive rendering and does not imply identical editorial wording.

Palaephatus, De incredibilibus, prologue, ed.Nicola Festa, Mythographi Graeci 3.2 (Leipzig:Teubner, 1902), p 2; First 1KGreek transcription. View original source ↗

Additional original-language witness

Palaephatus, De incredibilibus, prologue, ed.Nicola Festa, Mythographi Graeci 3.2 (Leipzig:Teubner, 1902), p 2; First 1KGreek transcription.

Existing human translation retained verbatim; historical original-language passage covers the same translated quotation.

The paired Greek already follows Festa 1902, now independently verified. Dossier is replaced with Festa’s complete carrier sentence, without the later supplied ἀεί. The retained Diels German is a historical interpretive rendering and does not imply identical editorial wording.

ἀεὶ δὲ ἔγωγε ἐπαινῶ τοὺς συγγραφέας Μέλισσον καὶ Λαμίσκον τὸν Σάμιον ἐν ἀρχῇ λέγοντας ἔστιν ἃ ἐγένετο, καὶ νῦν ἔσται.

Witness source ↗

Historical printed original-language edition in the public domain; digital transcription: Lia Hanhardt, The Center for Hellenic Studies / Open Greek and Latin, First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0. Excerpted and normalized as documented. · Licence terms ↗

Original edition: Historical printed original-language edition in the public domain; digital transcription: Lia Hanhardt, The Center for Hellenic Studies / Open Greek and Latin, First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0. Excerpted and normalized as documented. · Licence terms ↗

German wording transcribed and checked against the printed 1906 edition, p. 149; line-end hyphenation and page breaks are joined. The matching original identifies the portion translated. The longer source witness is retained separately when the quotation is an excerpt

The matching Greek follows the 1906 printing, which differs from the later text. Diels prints this saying among spurious fragments

German · Hermann Diels · Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 2. Auflage, Band I (1906) Published translation ↗

Public domain

Available translations & credits

  • German · Hermann Diels. Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 2. Auflage, Band I (1906). Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Translation: Public domain

    Original edition: Historical printed original-language edition in the public domain; digital transcription: Lia Hanhardt, The Center for Hellenic Studies / Open Greek and Latin, First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0. Excerpted and normalized as documented. · Licence terms ↗

DK 30 B 12SYRIAC TRANSMISSIONSPURIOUS

Available translations: German

No Greek survives for this entry. The Syriac witness is represented by the credited historical German translation.

Melissos hat gesagt: Sehr ärgerlich bin ich über die unnütze Arbeit, durch die die Lebenden sich abmühen und ermüden: durch nächtliche Reisen und mühselige Wanderungen, indem sie sogar zwischen den wildbewegten Wogen des Meeres hinfahren und mitten darin verharrend zwischen Tod und Leben schweben und fremd und weit entfernt von ihren Wohnungen weilen, nur um Gewinn zusammen zu bringen, von dem sie nicht wissen, wer ihn bei ihrem Tode erben wird, und nicht wollen sie die herrlichen Schätze der Weisheit erwerben, deren sie nicht entäußert werden, da dies, während sie es ihren Freunden als Erbe hinterlassen, doch auch mit ihnen zur Unterwelt fährt und ihnen nicht verloren geht. Und es bezeugen dies die Verständigen, indem sie sagen: der und der Weise ist gestorben und nicht seine Weisheit.

German · Victor Ryssel · Griechisch-syrische Philosophensprüche über die Seele (1896), no. 31; reprinted in Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 2. Auflage, Band I (1906), p. 149
How this fragment survives

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading.

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading in the reviewed records. The linked edition remains available below.

Original-text edition
Ancient text from the individually cited witness; textual differences and transmission are documented below
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Diels, second edition (1906), vol. I, p. 149, old chapter 20 B12, under “Spurious fragments.” Graeco-Syriac sayings about the soul, translated into German by Victor Ryssel, Rheinisches Museum 51 (1896), p. 539, no. 31. The displayed intermediary is German. The attribution to Melissus is spurious; no Greek original is supplied

Ancient text from the individually cited witness; textual differences and transmission are documented below View original source ↗

German wording transcribed and checked against the printed 1906 edition, p. 149; line-end hyphenation and page breaks are joined. Consult the cited edition for surrounding source context

German translation of the Syriac saying by Victor Ryssel, Rheinisches Museum 51 (1896), p. 539, no. 31, reprinted by Diels. This is a spurious attribution to Melissus. No Greek original survives and the Syriac is not transcribed here

German · Victor Ryssel · Griechisch-syrische Philosophensprüche über die Seele (1896), no. 31; reprinted in Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 2. Auflage, Band I (1906), p. 149 Published translation ↗

Public domain

Available translations & credits

  • German · Victor Ryssel. Griechisch-syrische Philosophensprüche über die Seele (1896), no. 31; reprinted in Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 2. Auflage, Band I (1906), p. 149. Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Translation: Public domain

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LIDDELL · SCOTT · JONES

Greek dictionary

LSJ (1940) · Perseus Digital Library · Sources & licences