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Book I Chapter 8 · I.8.45.3
Ancient Greek
p. 26245 Πλάτωνος, Τιμαίου· συνέχεια
Ἡμέρας δὲ καὶ νύκτας καὶ μῆνας καὶ ἐνιαυτούς, οὐκ ὄντας πρὶν οὐρανὸν γενέσθαι, τότε ἅμα ἐκείνῳ ξυνισταμένῳ τὴν γένεσιν αὐτῶν μηχανᾶται. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα μέρη χρόνου καὶ τό τ’ ἦν καὶ ἔσται χρόνου γεγονότα εἴδη, ἃ δὴ φέροντες λανθάνομεν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀΐδιον ⟨οὐσίαν⟩ οὐκ ὀρθῶς. Λέγομεν γὰρ δὴ ὡς ἦν ἐστί τε καὶ ἔσται· τῇ δὲ τὸ ἔστι μόνον κατὰ τὸν ἀληθῆ λόγον προσήκει, τὸ δ’ ἦν τό τ’ ἔσται περὶ τὴν ἐν χρόνῳ γένεσιν ἰοῦσαν πρέπει λέγεσθαι· κίνησις γάρ ἐστι. Τὸ δὲ ἀεὶ κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἔχον ἀκινήτως οὔτε πρεσβύτερον οὔτε νεώτερον προσήκει γίγνεσθαι διὰ χρόνου οὔτε γενέσθαι ποτὲ οὐδὲ γεγονέναι νῦν οὐδ’ εἰσαῦθις ἔσεσθαι, τὸ παράπαν τε οὐδὲν ὅσα γένεσις τοῖς ἐν αἰσθήσει φερομένοις προσῆψεν, ἀλλὰ χρόνου ταῦτα αἰῶνα μιμουμένου καὶ κατ’ ἀριθμὸν κυκλουμένου γέγονεν εἴδη.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 8
p. 26345 Plato, Timaeus, continued
Days and nights, months and years did not exist before heaven came to be. At the time of its formation he contrived that they should come to be along with it. All these are parts of time, and “was” and “will be” are forms of time that have come to be. We mistakenly and unawares transfer them to everlasting ⟨being⟩. For we say that it was, is, and will be, whereas in a true account only “is” belongs to it. “Was” and “will be” should be said of becoming as it proceeds in time, for it is motion. What always remains unchangingly the same should neither grow older nor younger through time, nor have come to be at some time, nor have now come to be, nor be going to exist hereafter. None at all of the conditions that becoming attaches to things moving within perception belongs to it. Rather, these have arisen as forms of time, which imitates eternity and revolves according to number.296
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 8 · I.8.45.3
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Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Stobaeus gathered Greek philosophy and poetry for his son Septimius. Volume I presents the dedication testimony, On Arithmetic, Book I through chapter 60, and the ancient contents of all four books. This complete bilingual edition includes an introduction and 2,117 explanatory notes.
Historical Text and Translation
The Greek follows Curt Wachsmuth’s 1884 Volume I, checked against the supplied scan. Gaps, lost-chapter headings, and uncertain attributions remain visible. Chapter 2 includes a labeled proposed reconstruction. The appendix outlines Books I–IV; the full texts of Books II–IV are outside this volume. Reader pages preserve the companion PDF’s numbering.
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Diotimos Editions prepared this independent English translation directly from the Greek. Prose and verse retain their distinct forms, with mixed passages preserving their quoted verse. Every passage is paired with its Greek and identified by the edition’s reference number. All 2,117 notes remain linked to their passages, with continuous numbering across the introduction and text.
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