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Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition

John Stobaeus

Stobaeus, Volume I

Greek with an independent English translation.

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Stobaeus, Volume IBook I Chapter 28 · I.28.1a.4–I.28.1a.6

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 327 of 879

Book I Chapter 28 · I.28.1a.4–I.28.1a.6

Ancient Greek

p. 650

1a · 4

I.28.1a.4

* * κομήτας δὲ ὅταν ἐπὶ πλέον ἐξαφθῇ καὶ πρὸς πλείονα διαμένῃ χρόνον, τοῦ μὲν ἀστέρος φαινομένου κάτωθεν, τῆς δὲ κόμης ἄνωθεν ἐπιλαμπούσης· πωγωνίας δὲ ὅταν ἔμπαλιν ὁ μὲν ἀστὴρ ἄνωθεν θεωρῆται, ἡ δὲ κόμη κάτωθεν, παρεχομένη τῷ σχήματι πώγωνος ἔμφασιν.

1a ⟨Ἀετίου⟩ · 5

I.28.1a.5

Στράτων ἄστρου φῶς περιληφθὲν νέφει πυκνῷ, καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν λαμπτήρων γίνεται.

1a ⟨Ἀετίου⟩ · 6

I.28.1a.6

Ἡρακλείδης ὁ Ποντικὸς νέφος μετάρσιον ὑπὸ μεταρσίου φωτὸς καταυγαζόμενον. Ὁμοίως δ᾽ αἰτιολογεῖ πωγωνίαν, δοκίδας, κίονα καὶ τὰ τούτοις συγγενῆ, καθάπερ ἀμέλει πάντες οἱ Περιπατητικοὶ παρὰ τοὺς τοῦ νέφους ταῦτα γίνεσθαι σχηματισμούς.

650

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 28

p. 651

1a Comets and bearded stars

I.28.1a.4

[Gap in the text.] They are comets when the material is kindled more extensively and lasts for a longer time, with the star appearing below and the hair shining above; they are bearded stars when, conversely, the star is seen above and the hair below, its shape giving the appearance of a beard.842

1a ⟨Aëtius⟩: Strato

I.28.1a.5

Strato held that it is the light of a star enclosed in a dense cloud, as happens with lamps.

1a ⟨Aëtius⟩: Heraclides of Pontus

I.28.1a.6

Heraclides of Pontus held that it is a cloud aloft, illuminated by light aloft. He gives a similar explanation of a bearded star, beams, a pillar, and related phenomena: as indeed do all the Peripatetics, he holds that these arise from the shapes assumed by the cloud.843

651

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.