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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 394 of 879
Book I Chapter 40 · I.40.1.30–I.40.1.32
Ancient Greek
p. 78430
νέφος δ᾽ ἐστὶν ⟨πάχος⟩ ἀτμῶδες συνεστραμμένον γόνιμον ὕδατος· ὄμβρος δὲ γίνεται μὲν κατ᾽ ἐκπιασμὸν νέφους εὖ μάλα πεπαχυμμένου· διαφορὰς δὲ ἴσχει ὅσας καὶ ἡ τοῦ νέφους ἀπόθλιψις· ἠπία μὲν γὰρ οὖσα μαλακὰς ψεκάδας διασπείρει, σφοδρὰ δὲ ἁδροτέρας· καὶ τοῦτο καλοῦμεν ὄμβρον ὑετοῦ μείζονα καὶ συνεχῆ συστρέμματα ἐπὶ γῆς φερόμενα.
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Χιὼν δὲ γίνεται κατὰ νεφῶν πεπυκνωμένων ἀπόθραυσιν πρὸ τῆς εἰς ὕδωρ μεταβολῆς ἀνακοπέντων· ἐργάζεται δὲ ἡ μὲν κοπὴ τὸ ἀφρῶδές τε καὶ ἔκλευκον, ἡ δὲ σύμπηξις τοῦ ἐνόντος ὑγροῦ τὴν ψυχρότητα οὔπω χυθέντος οὐδὲ ἠραιωμένου. Σφοδρὰ δ᾽ αὕτη καὶ ἀθρόα καταφερομένη νιφετὸς ὠνόμασται.
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Χάλαζα δὲ γίνεται νιφετοῦ συστραφέντος καὶ βρῖθος ἐκ πιλήματος εἰς καταφορὰν ταχυτέραν λαβόντος· παρὰ δὲ τὰ μεγέθη τῶν ἀπορρηγνυμένων θραυσμάτων οἵ τε ὄγκοι μείζους αἵ τε φοραὶ γίνονται βιαιότεραι. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐκ τῆς ὑγρᾶς ἀναθυμιάσεως πέφυκε συμπίπτειν.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 40
p. 78530 · Cloud and rain
cloud is a gathered vaporous ⟨mass⟩ capable of producing water. Rain arises when a thoroughly thickened cloud is squeezed out, and varies with the compression of the cloud. Gentle compression scatters fine drops; violent compression scatters larger ones. What we call a downpour consists of larger, continuous masses of rain descending to earth.1015
31 · Snow
Snow arises from the breaking up of condensed clouds, checked before their change into water. The breaking produces its frothy texture and whiteness; the freezing of the moisture within it, which has not yet flowed out or become diffuse, produces its coldness. When it falls violently and in a mass, it is called a snowstorm.
32 · Hail
Hail arises when snow is compacted and gains weight from its compression, causing a faster descent. According to the size of the fragments that break off, the masses are larger and their movements more violent. These phenomena, then, naturally arise from the moist exhalation.1016
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 40 · I.40.1.30–I.40.1.32
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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.
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.