Fragments 1-19 are numbered here according to the ordering used for the "B" fragments in H. Diels, Die Fragment der Vorsokratiker , ed. W. Kranz, 6th ed. (Hildesheim: Weidmann, 1951). Hence Fragment 1 = DK B1, etc.



Fragment 1



surinx

thea

Fragment 2



Fragment 4



Fragment 5



Fragment 6



Fragment 7



krinai

logos

Fragment 8



muthos

eon

eon

noein

ek mē eontos

phaton

noos

noēton

eon

eon

eon

anoēton

to eon

eontos

eon

eonti

themis

themis

to eon

noēma

noēma

eon

Fragment 9



Fragment 10



Fragment 11



eschatos

Fragment 12



Fragment 13



Fragment 14



Fragment 15



Fragment 15a



Fragment 16



phroneei

Fragment 17



Fragment 19



telethei

Fragment 1, line 3:

The manuscripts here are all corrupt (i.e., they must be the results of miscopying since they present a series of letters that do not form a sequence of correctly-spelled words). The most common way to make sense of them gives the sequence of words I have translated above. Recently N.-L. Cordero has argued that the letters could yield a different sequence of words, so that this line would read something like (my translation): Of a goddess, who bears there, in relation to everything, the man of understanding. See N.-L. Cordero, By Being, It Is (Parmenides Publishing, 2005) and Les Deux chemins de Parménide , 2d ed. (Vrin/Ousia, 1997).





Fragment 1, line 29 eupeitheos , well-persuasive; others have eukukleos , well-rounded.



: The manuscripts differ here. Some offer, well-persuasive; others have, well-rounded.

Fragment 2, line 3 hōs estin . Hōs means 'how' or possibly 'that,' and estin is the third-person singular form of the verb 'to be.' Like some modern languages such as Spanish, Greek often omits the noun or pronoun preceding a verb if the subject of the verb is clear from the context. Thus : The Greek here is very difficult. The Greek phrase ismeans 'how' or possibly 'that,' andis the third-person singular form of the verb 'to be.' Like some modern languages such as Spanish, Greek often omits the noun or pronoun preceding a verb if the subject of the verb is clear from the context. Thus hōs estin would mean how/that [something] is. But because we do not have the whole text of Parmenides' poem, we do not have an absolutely clear indication of what the subject of the verb (the "something") is. Given the goddess's remarks about eon ("being" or "what is") in Fragments 6 through 8, many scholars suggest that the subject of the verb estin in Fragment 2 line 3 is eon . This would match well with the description of what must be said and conceived concerning eon on the road of inquiry that is discussed in the first 49 lines of Fragment 8. Other commentators have suggested that in fact there is no subject for the verb, and that the line should be read as indicating that one road of inquiry is to conceive that "is," i.e. to take seriously the meaning and implications of saying that anything "is."

Fragment 2, line 4 Peithō (Persuasion) follows Alētheiē , but the spelling in the manuscripts suggests that it is the other way around. This may or may not be a result of corruption in the manuscripts. As for what : Many translators present this line so that(Persuasion) follows, but the spelling in the manuscripts suggests that it is the other way around. This may or may not be a result of corruption in the manuscripts. As for what

alētheiē (also spelled alētheia ) means, it is related, but not identical, to truth. It is also not equivalent to unconcealment, another way the word is sometimes rendered.To present alētheiē is to do more than to say something true, or to state the truth. Whereas the opposite of truth is falsity or falsehood, alētheiē is opposed not only to pseudos (lie, falsehood) but also to lēthē (oblivion, forgetting) and its relatives. We might start to characterize alētheiē by saying that it is something like the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We would then need to add the further specifications that telling alētheiē cannot include lies, mistakes, errors, misapprehensions, gaps, or other inaccuracies; and cannot (wittingly or unwittingly) distort, conceal, omit, or ignore anything pertinent to the topic at hand. To be able to tell alētheiē requires an awareness of the whole of what is relevant, and awareness of the context of one’s subject. This suggests another contrast with truth: we can say that someone has “guessed the truth,” or that he or she has “stated the truth” in making an accurate surmise. There is no comparable Greek use of

alētheiē.

In Pindar and in Hesiod’s account of the Muses, awareness of the origins of things (of the cosmos, of a city, of a family) is a requisite for presenting current events properly in one’s poem. Awareness of these origins is necessary in order to be able to give each thing and person its due and to present each in its proper place (according to dikē ) in the world. There is then something explanatory in the alētheiē these poets claim to be presenting, and that aspect will figure prominently in Parmenides’ fragments. (Portions of this note have appeared in print in my contribution, "

Alētheia

and Inquiry in Parmenides," pp. 1-20 in Proceedings for the Fourth Annual Independent Meeting of the Ancient Philosophy Society, 2004 .)

Fragment 3, general note : Fragment 3 is metrically only half a line long, and may not represent a complete sentence or even a complete clause.

Fragment 3, line 1 Noein is the infinitive of a verb that most often means "being aware [of]," "to be aware [of]," "to conceive [of]" (in the sense of having a mental conception of something - not conception in the sense of procreation), "conceiving," and so on. It can also mean "to intend," "to plan," and the like. is the infinitive of a verb that most often means "being aware [of]," "to be aware [of]," "to conceive [of]" (in the sense of having a mental conception of something - not conception in the sense of procreation), "conceiving," and so on. It can also mean "to intend," "to plan," and the like.

Fragment 4, line 1 Noos can be translated as 'mind,' 'intelligence,' 'awareness,' 'intellectual awareness.' It is etymologically related to can be translated as 'mind,' 'intelligence,' 'awareness,' 'intellectual awareness.' It is etymologically related to noein .

Anaxagoras will use the same word; it is spelled nous in his dialect.

Fragment 6, line 1 Eon can be translated as 'being,' 'a being,' 'that which is,' 'what is,' or perhaps 'what is the case.' To eon adds the definite article, so it can be translated as 'the being,' 'the thing that is,' 'what is,' 'that which is.' The plural is eonta (beings, things that are, etc.). Mē eonta means "things that are not." To mē eon means "what is not," "that which is not," or "not-being."



can be translated as 'being,' 'a being,' 'that which is,' 'what is,' or perhaps 'what is the case.'adds the definite article, so it can be translated as 'the being,' 'the thing that is,' 'what is,' 'that which is.' The plural is(beings, things that are, etc.).means "things that are not."means "what is not," "that which is not," or "not-being."

Fragment 8, lines 35-36 The Route of Parmenides (Yale University Press, 1970), A.P.D. Mourelatos proposes that this line be translated, "For not without what-is, to which it stands committed, will you find thinking" (pp.170-172). The Greek word does indeed connote commitment, so this is a very important translation alternative. I would translate noein as 'conceiving' or 'awareness' instead of 'thinking,' for reasons detailed in my article, " Legein, Noein, and To Eon in Parmenides" ( Ancient Philosophy 21 [2001]: 277-303).



: In(Yale University Press, 1970), A.P.D. Mourelatos proposes that this line be translated, "For not without what-is, to which it stands committed, will you find thinking" (pp.170-172). The Greek word does indeed connote commitment, so this is a very important translation alternative. I would translateas 'conceiving' or 'awareness' instead of 'thinking,' for reasons detailed in my article, "andin Parmenides" (21 [2001]: 277-303).

Fragment 8, line 38 onomastai , 'it has been named,' while others have onoma estai , 'it will be a name.' : Some manuscripts have, 'it has been named,' while others have, 'it will be a name.'

Fragment 13, line 1 Erōs (god of love and desire). Quite possibly the unnamed female divinity of Fragment 12 is meant; that seems to have been the impression of some ancient commentators. We do not know whether this divinity is the same as any of the other female divinities in Parmenides' fragments. : It is not clear just who is supposed to have devised(god of love and desire). Quite possibly the unnamed female divinity of Fragment 12 is meant; that seems to have been the impression of some ancient commentators. We do not know whether this divinity is the same as any of the other female divinities in Parmenides' fragments.

Fragments 14 and 15



: These fragments are supposed to describe the Moon.

Fragment 15a

: This fragment is supposed to describe the Earth.

Fragment 17 : This fragment is supposed to describe the placement of embryos in the womb.

Fragment 18 : This fragment has come down to us only in Latin prose translation, so I have rendered it in prose instead of verse. It is apparently supposed to explain why some individuals are attracted only to their own sex (as opposed to being attracted to the opposite sex - or to both sexes?).

"Cornford's Fragment" hoion , 'such,' or oion , 'alone.'



: This fragment was identified by F.M. Cornford and is widely but not universally accepted as genuinely a fragment of Parmenides' poem. It presents a number of difficulties. We do not know where in the poem the fragment originated if it is genuine: Is it part of the goddess's account of roads of inquiry? Is it part of her account of the opinions of mortals? Is it something else? Further, it is not clear whether this fragment represents a full sentence or only part of one. Another problem is the wording. The first word may be either, 'such,' or, 'alone.'