Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Nor was it ever, nor will it be, since it is now, all together, one, continuous.”
Parmenides · Eleatic · Ancient · early 5th century BCE
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading denies a past and a future to what-is. It did not used to be, and it will not later be, because it is now, all of it together, one and continuous. A competing reading hears a mystical present tense, a command to live in the moment, which the lines do not offer. They are an ontological claim inside DK 28 B8, just after the signs have been announced. If what-is is ungenerated and imperishable, tense is the wrong tool. 'Now' means not spread out in time, not a mindfulness cue. The line is why the poem sounds so hostile to ordinary talk of becoming. Becoming needs a was and a will be. He says the remaining road has neither.
Did Parmenides really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Diels-Kranz 28 B8, lines 5–6 in the standard numbering, a few lines after the list of signs. The English is a close translation of the Greek. It is not the opening of the fragment and not B6.
Where it comes from
Fragment DK 28 B8, lines 5–6
Approximate date: early 5th century BCE.
How to use it
A history of a street that can say what changed last year is exactly the kind of account his remaining road refuses. That does not make the history false. It shows the cost of his conclusion. Use the line to see what ordinary explanation gives up if past and future are banned, not as advice for a stressful day.
A mindset reading
Do not translate 'now' into a mood. He is refusing was and will be for what-is. The habit is to ask whether a sentence you admire has been moved from ontology into self-help. This one moves very easily, and it should be moved back.
Understand the philosophy
These are lines 5–6 of fragment B8. The key cluster is now, all together, one, continuous. They spell out the sign that what-is is unshaken in time. The opening list of signs is the previous card. B2 named the only road that leads here. The poem's second part, the Way of Opinion, will talk about the changing world the goddess says mortals mistakenly trust. That part is not this line.
- change
- knowledge
FAQ
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading denies a past and a future to what-is. It did not used to be, and it will not later be, because it is now, all of it together, one and continuous. A competing reading hears a mystical present tense, a command to live in the moment, which the lines do not offer. They are an ontological claim inside DK 28 B8, just after the signs have been announced. If what-is is ungenerated and imperishable, tense is the wrong tool. 'Now' means not spread out in time, not a mindfulness cue. The line is why the poem sounds so hostile to ordinary talk of becoming. Becoming needs a was and a will be. He says the remaining road has neither.
Did Parmenides really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Diels-Kranz 28 B8, lines 5–6 in the standard numbering, a few lines after the list of signs. The English is a close translation of the Greek. It is not the opening of the fragment and not B6.
Which work is it in?
Fragment DK 28 B8, lines 5–6 Approximate date: early 5th century BCE.