Stobaeus, Volume I

Name: Stobaeus, Volume I
Author: John Stobaeus

Greek with an independent English translation.

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Stobaeus, Volume IBook I Chapter 16 · I.16.2.1–I.16.2.3

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 194 of 879

Book I Chapter 16 · I.16.2.1–I.16.2.3

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p. 384

2 Πλάτωνος ἐκ τοῦ Τιμαίου · 1

I.16.2.1

Τέταρτον γὰρ δὴ λοιπὸν ἔτι γένος ἡμῖν αἰσθητικῶν, ὃ διελέσθαι δεῖ συχνὰ ἐν αὑτῷ ποικίλματα κεκτημένον, ἃ ξύμπαντα μὲν χρόας ἐκαλέσαμεν, φλόγα τῶν σωμάτων ἑκάστων ἀπορρέουσαν, ὄψει σύμμετρα μόρια ἔχουσαν πρὸς αἴσθησιν· ὄψεως δ’ ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν αὐτῶν περὶ τῶν αἰτίων τῆς γενέσεως ὀλίγα ἐρρήθη.

2 Πλάτωνος ἐκ τοῦ Τιμαίου · 2

I.16.2.2

Τῇδε οὖν τῶν χρωμάτων πέρι μάλιστα εἰκὸς πρέποι τ’ ἂν τὸν ἐπιεικῆ λόγον διεξελθεῖν· τὰ φερόμενα ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων μόρια ἐμπίπτοντά τε εἰς τὴν ὄψιν τὰ μὲν ἐλάττω, τὰ δὲ μείζω, τὰ δὲ ἴσα τοῖς αὐτοῖς τῆς ὄψεως μέρεσιν εἶναι. Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἴσα ἀναίσθητα, ἃ δὴ καὶ διαφανῆ λέγομεν·

2 Πλάτωνος ἐκ τοῦ Τιμαίου · 3

I.16.2.3

τὰ δὲ μείζω καὶ ἐλάττω, τὰ μὲν συγκρίνοντα, τὰ δὲ διακρίνοντα αὐτήν, τοῖς περὶ τὴν σάρκα θερμοῖς καὶ ψυχροῖς καὶ τοῖς περὶ τὴν γλῶτταν στρυφνοῖς καὶ ὅσα θερμαντικὰ ὄντα δριμέα ἐκαλέσαμεν ἀδελφὰ εἶναι, τά τε λευκὰ καὶ τὰ μέλανα, ἐκείνων παθήματα γεγονότα ἐν ἄλλῳ γένει τὰ αὐτά, φανταζόμενα δὲ ἄλλα διὰ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας. Οὕτως οὖν αὐτὰ προσρητέον, τὸ μὲν διακριτικὸν τῆς ὄψεως λευκόν, τὸ δ’ ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ μέλαν,

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 16

p. 385

2 Plato, Timaeus 67c-68d, part 1

I.16.2.1

For there is still a fourth class of sensible objects left for us to distinguish, containing many variations within itself. All these together we have called colors: a flame streaming from each body, with particles commensurate with sight so as to produce perception. A little was said earlier about sight itself and the causes of its coming into being.⁴⁵⁷

2 Plato, Timaeus 67c-68d, part 2

I.16.2.2

The most likely and fitting way to develop a reasonable account of colors would therefore be this: of the particles carried from other things and striking the visual stream, some are smaller, some larger, and some equal in size to the parts of sight itself. Those of equal size are imperceptible, and these we call transparent.⁴⁵⁸

2 Plato, Timaeus 67c-68d, part 3

I.16.2.3

The larger and smaller particles, which respectively compress and disperse the visual stream, are akin to the hot and cold things affecting flesh, and to the astringent things affecting the tongue and all those heating things that we called pungent. White and black are the same affections as these, arising in a different sphere, though for these reasons they appear different. We should therefore name them accordingly: what disperses the visual stream is white, and its opposite is black.⁴⁵⁹

457.The reference to what was said earlier belongs to Plato’s dialogue, not to a missing passage of Stobaeus’s chapter. In this account opsis, “sight,” includes a physical visual stream: the subsequent discussion speaks of its particles and of fire issuing from the eyes.

458.The particles are compared with the material constituents of sight, not with the visible size of the entire eye. “Transparent” describes the absence of a perceptible disturbance in this case. The account is expressly offered as likely or reasonable.

459.Synkrinein and diakrinein describe bringing together and separating: the larger particles compress, the smaller disperse. Plato compares the same kinds of physical action across sight, touch, and taste. “A different sphere” renders en allō genei, a different class or domain of sensation.

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.

About Diotimos Editions

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.

Rights

Stobaeus’s ancient Greek work and Wachsmuth’s 1884 printing are in the public domain. The independent English translation, introduction, and explanatory notes are © 2026 Diotimos Editions. The complete supplied edition is available as PDF, EPUB, Word, and Markdown. The PDF retains the fixed page locations used by the companion lexicon.