Anaximander, in Early Conceptions of the Cosmos
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The earth is a cylindrical column, surrounded by air; it floats upright in the centre of the universe without support or anything to stand on, yet it does not fall because, being in the centre, it has no preferred direction towards which to lean; if it did, this would disturb the symmetry and balance of the whole. The spherical heavens enclose the atmosphere 'like the bark of a tree', and there are several layers of this enclosure to accommodate the various stellar objects.
— Anaximander on Symmetry
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The earth is a cylindrical column, surrounded by air; it floats upright in the centre of the universe without support or anything to stand on, yet it does not fall because, being in the centre, it has no preferred direction towards which to lean; if it did, this would disturb the symmetry and balance of the whole. The spherical heavens enclose the atmosphere 'like the bark of a tree', and there are several layers of this enclosure to accommodate the various stellar objects." in the context of "Anaximander, in Early Conceptions of the Cosmos" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Symmetry" (A)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Anaximander
Anaximander (Greek: Ἀναξίμανδρος, Anaximandros; c. 610 – c. 546 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived in Miletus, a city of Ionia; Milet in modern Turkey. He belonged to the Milesian school and learned the teachings of his master Thales, succeeding him to become the second master of that school where he counted Anaximenes and arguably, Pythagoras amongst his pupils.
About Anaximander
Anaximander (Greek: Ἀναξίμανδρος, Anaximandros; c. 610 – c. 546 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived in Miletus, a city of Ionia; Milet in modern Turkey. He belonged to the Milesian school and learned the teachings of his master Thales, succeeding him to become the second master of that school where he counted Anaximenes and arguably, Pythagoras amongst his pupils.
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