Anaximander

Cosmology Ancient Greek -610 – -546 401 quotes

He proposed an infinite, undefined substance called the 'apeiron' as the origin of the cosmos and a geocentric model.

Quotes by Anaximander

The apeiron is the eternal and ageless.

On Nature (as reported by Simplicius)

The first humans were born from fish-like creatures.

On Nature (as reported by Plutarch)

The sun is a wheel of fire, and the moon is also a wheel of fire.

On Nature (as reported by Hippolytus)

The apeiron is the principle of all things, and it is divine.

On Nature (as reported by Aristotle)

The stars are like nails fixed in the sky.

On Nature (as reported by Aetius)

The apeiron is the boundless and the infinite.

On Nature (as reported by Simplicius)

The boundless is the origin of all things, from which they arise and into which they return according to necessity.

Fragment A9 (Simplicius, Physics 24.13)

The earth is a cylinder, like a stone pillar, and we walk on one of its flat surfaces.

Fragment A10 (Pseudo-Plutarch, Stromata 2)

All things are born from the boundless, and into the boundless they pass away.

Fragment A15 (Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies I.6.1)

The first principle is the apeiron, the boundless, from which all things come into being and into which they perish.

Fragment A16 (Aristotle, Physics III.4, 203b11)

The stars are wheels of fire, and the sun is the largest of these.

Fragment A11 (Aëtius, Placita II.13.7)

The first animals were born in moisture and were covered with prickly scales.

Fragment A30 (Plutarch, Stromata 2)

Man was born from fish, or creatures like fish, and was nourished in their bellies until he was able to fend for himself.

Fragment A30 (Censorinus, De die natali 4.7)

The earth is suspended in the middle, supported by nothing, but remaining in place on account of its equal distance from all things.

Fragment A11 (Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies I.6.3)

The heavens are many, and there are innumerable worlds.

Fragment A17 (Simplicius, Physics 24.13)

The boundless encompasses all things and governs all things.

Fragment A15 (Aristotle, Physics III.4, 203b13)

The first principle is neither water nor any other of the so-called elements, but some other boundless nature.

Fragment A9 (Simplicius, Physics 24.13)

The boundless is eternal and ageless, and it encompasses all the worlds.

Fragment A17 (Aëtius, Placita I.3.3)

The sun is a wheel of fire, and its opening is like the mouth of a flute.

Fragment A11 (Aëtius, Placita II.20.1)

The moon is a wheel of fire, and its opening is like the mouth of a flute.

Fragment A11 (Aëtius, Placita II.25.1)