Panta rhei (doctrine)

The formula panta rhei (Ancient Greek πάντα ῥεῖ 'everything flows') is an aphorism to describe Heraclitus' doctrine. Plato attributes this teaching to Heraclitus in the dialogue Cratylus but the formula first appears in the work of the late antique Neoplatonist Simplicius. This formulaic summary of Heraclitus' thought was already in use in Augustan times. Its Latin translation (cuncta fluunt) can be found in the 15th book of Metamorphoses in the "Speech of Pythagoras", in which Ovid sets out the natural philosophical foundation of his Metamorphoses.

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