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This note aims to clarify a grammatical issue in Aristotle's De anima 3.7 by addressing a specific textual objection.

January 22, 2026The Classical Quarterly0 citationsOpen Access

Aristotle, De Anima 3.7 (431a4–7)

Key Points

This note aims to clarify a grammatical issue in Aristotle's De anima 3.7 by addressing a specific textual objection.
Examined the transmitted text of Aristotle's De anima 3.7
Analyzed the use of the particle μέν in the text
Applied modest repunctuation to reveal a corresponding δέ particle
Demonstrated that repunctuation provides a responding δέ particle
Clarified the grammatical structure of the text
Rejected previous interpretations of the μέν as μέν solitarium

Abstract

Abstract This note addresses a grammatical objection, first raised by Torstrik, to the transmitted text of Aristotle’s De anima 3.7, namely that the text contains at 431a4–7 a μέν without a corresponding δέ (or another adversative particle). Rejecting Corcilius’s suggestion that this is a μέν solitarium , the note shows that modest repunctuation reveals a responding δέ and makes better sense of this part of the text.

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