"The soul provides nature with the reason for the [presence or absence of] life, for even though it does not possess the same number of atoms as the body, being placed in it with its rational and non-rational elements, still it encompasses the whole body and, being bound by it, binds it in turn, just as the shortest dash of acid juice curdles a vast quantity of milk."
— Diogenes of Oenoanda (2nd Century CE)
Work Title
Date
2nd Century CE
Metaphor
"The soul provides nature with the reason for the [presence or absence of] life, for even though it does not possess the same number of atoms as the body, being placed in it with its rational and non-rational elements, still it encompasses the whole body and, being bound by it, binds it in turn, just as the shortest dash of acid juice curdles a vast quantity of milk."
Metaphor in Context
The soul provides nature with the reason for the [presence or absence of] life, for even though it does not possess the same number of atoms as the body, being placed in it with its rational and non-rational elements, still it encompasses the whole body and, being bound by it, binds it in turn, just as the shortest dash of acid juice curdles a vast quantity of milk.
(qtd. in Annas, 137)
(qtd. in Annas, 137)
Categories
Provenance
Reading Paul S. MacDonald. History of the Concept of Mind: Speculations About Soul, Mind and Spirit from Homer to Hume. Aldershot, Hants: Ashgate, 2003.
Citation
Annas, J. Hellenistic Philosophy of Mind. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
Date of Entry
09/14/2009
Date of Review
09/27/2006
