Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition

John Stobaeus

Stobaeus, Volume I

Name: Stobaeus, Volume I
Author: John Stobaeus

Greek with an independent English translation.

Explore the Lexicon

Stobaeus, Volume IBook I Chapter 24 · I.24.2a–I.24.2b.3

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

English Page · Branch 287 of 879

Book I Chapter 24 · I.24.2a–I.24.2b.3

Book Mode

Ancient Greek

p. 570

2a ⟨Ἀετίου⟩

I.24.2a

Ξενοκράτης κατὰ μιᾶς ἐπιφανείας οἴεται κεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀστέρας.

Οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι Στωικοὶ πρὸ τῶν ἑτέρων τοὺς ἑτέρους ἐν ὕψει καὶ βάθει.

2b ⟨Ἀετίου⟩ · 1

I.24.2b.1

Τῶν μαθηματικῶν τινὲς μὲν ὡς Πλάτων φασίν εἶναι τὴν τάξιν τῶν ἀστέρων, τινὲς δὲ μέσον πάντων τὸν ἥλιον.

2b ⟨Ἀετίου⟩ · 2

I.24.2b.2

Ταὐτὸν δὲ πεπονθέναι τῷ ἑωσφόρῳ τὸν στίλβωνα, ἰσοδραμεῖν δὲ αὐτοὺς τῷ ἡλίῳ καὶ συμπεριφέρεσθαι αὐτῷ· καὶ τότε μὲν προανατέλλοντα ἑωσφόρον φαίνεσθαι, τότε δὲ ἐπικαταδυόμενον ἕσπερον καλεῖσθαι.

2b ⟨Ἀετίου⟩ · 3

I.24.2b.3

Τοὺς δὲ πλανήτας τοῖς ἀπλανέσιν ἀπὸ δυσμῶν ἐπ᾽ ἀνατολὰς ἀντιφέρεσθαι.

Τούτῳ δὲ συνομολογεῖ καὶ Ἀλκμαίων.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 24

p. 571

2a ⟨Aëtius⟩: One surface or different depths

I.24.2a

Xenocrates thinks that the stars lie on a single surface.

The other Stoics place some before others, at different heights and depths.⁷²⁹

2b ⟨Aëtius⟩: Astronomers’ arrangements

I.24.2b.1

Some of the mathematical astronomers say that the stars are arranged as Plato describes; others put the sun in the middle of them all.⁷³⁰

2b ⟨Aëtius⟩: Mercury, Venus, and the sun

I.24.2b.2

Stilbon is in the same condition as Eosphorus: they keep pace with the sun and revolve along with it. At one time the planet rises before it and appears as a morning star; at another it sets after it and is called an evening star.⁷³¹

2b ⟨Aëtius⟩: The planets’ contrary course

I.24.2b.3

The planets travel from west to east, contrary to the fixed stars.

Alcmaeon agrees with this as well.⁷³²

729.“The other Stoics” is the transmitted wording, although Xenocrates was an Academic, not a Stoic. Wachsmuth suspects that words were lost before this clause. The translation preserves the awkward transition without supplying a missing philosopher or doctrine.

730.Mathematikoi here means those studying the mathematical arrangement and motions of the heavens. A middle position in the sequence of celestial bodies does not by itself establish a heliocentric system. The preceding Platonic arrangement is given in 1l.

731.Stilbon is Mercury and Eosphorus is Venus. The report compares their courses with the sun’s, without specifying a modern orbital mechanism. After its plural “they,” the Greek shifts to a singular participle; “the planet” preserves that general wording. Morning and evening appearances can describe either planet here.

732.The contrary course is the planets’ movement relative to the stellar background, distinguished from the sky’s common daily revolution. Alcmaeon’s agreement attaches to this claim; it need not endorse every preceding arrangement or explanation.

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.