Note 435 — Chapter IV · PARMENIDES OF ELEA

I read with Zeller (p. 558 n. 1, Eng. trans. p. 584, n. 1) τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ νοεῖν ἔστιν τε καὶ εἶναι. Apart from the philosophical anachronism of making Parmenides say that “thought and being are the same,” it is a grammatical anachronism to make him use the infinitive (with or without the article) as the subject of a sentence. On the other hand, he does use the active infinitive after εἶναι in the construction where we usually use a passive infinitive (Monro, H. Gr. § 231 sub fin.). Cf. fr. 4, εἰσὶ νοῆσαι, “are for thinking,” i.e. “can be thought.”