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Book I Chapter 41 · I.41.6.1–I.41.6.2
Ancient Greek
p. 8506.1
Ἑρμοῦ ἐκ τῶν πρὸς Τάτ.
⟨ΤΑΤ⟩ Ὀρθῶς ταῦτα ἀπέδειξας, ὦ πάτερ· ἐκεῖνα δὲ ἔτι με δίδαξον. Ἔφης γάρ που τὴν ἐπιστήμην καὶ τὴν τέχνην ἐνέργειαν εἶναι τοῦ λογικοῦ· νῦν δὲ φῂς τὰ ἄλογα ζῷα στερήσει τοῦ λογικοῦ ἄλογα εἶναι καὶ κεκλῆσθαι· δῆλον ⟨δ᾽⟩ ὅτι ἀνάγκη κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν λόγον τὰ ἄλογα ζῷα μὴ μετέχειν ἐπιστήμης μηδὲ τέχνης διὰ τὸ ἐστερῆσθαι τοῦ λογικοῦ.
⟨ΕΡΜ.⟩ Ἀνάγκη γάρ, ὦ τέκνον.
⟨ΤΑΤ⟩ Πῶς οὖν ὁρῶμεν, ὦ πάτερ, τινὰ τῶν ἀλόγων ἐπιστήμῃ καὶ τέχνῃ χρώμενα, οἷον τοὺς μύρμηκας τὰς τροφὰς ἀποθησαυριζομένους τοῦ χειμῶνος καὶ τὰ ἀέρια ζῷα ὁμοίως καλιὰς ἑαυτοῖς συντιθέντα, τὰ δὲ τετράποδα γνωρίζοντα τοὺς φωλεοὺς τοὺς ἰδίους;
6.2
⟨ΕΡΜ.⟩ Ταῦτα, ὦ τέκνον, οὐκ ἐπιστήμῃ οὐδὲ τέχνῃ ποιεῖ, ἀλλὰ φύσει. Ἡ γὰρ ἐπιστήμη καὶ ἡ τέχνη διδακτά εἰσι· τούτων δὲ τῶν ἀλόγων οὐδεὶς οὐδὲν διδάσκεται. Τὰ δὲ φύσει γιγνόμενα ἐνεργείᾳ μὲν γίνεται καθολικῇ· τὰ δὲ ἐπιστήμῃ καὶ τέχνῃ εἰδικῶς παραγίγνεται, οὐ πᾶσι· ⟨τὰ δὲ πᾶσι⟩ γινόμενα ὑπὸ φύσεως ἐνεργεῖται. Οἷον οἱ ἄνθρωποι ⟨πάντες⟩ ἄνω βλέπουσιν, οὐ πάντες δὲ ἄνθρωποι μουσικοὶ οὐδὲ πάντες τοξόται ἢ κυνηγοὶ οὐδὲ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα· ἀλλά τινὲς αὐτῶν τι ἔμαθον ἐπιστήμης καὶ τέχνης ἐνεργούσης.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 41
p. 8516.1 · Hermes and Tat: animals and skill
From Hermes, from the writings To Tat.
⟨TAT⟩ You have demonstrated this correctly, father; but teach me this further point. You said, I believe, that knowledge and skill are an activity of the rational faculty. Yet now you say that irrational animals are and are called irrational because they lack that faculty. ⟨And⟩ it is clear that, on this account, irrational animals necessarily have no share in knowledge or skill, since they lack the rational faculty.
⟨HERMES⟩ Necessarily, my child.
⟨TAT⟩ Why, then, father, do we see some irrational animals employing knowledge and skill, such as ants storing their winter food, flying creatures likewise building nests for themselves, and quadrupeds recognizing their own dens?1099
6.2 · Nature and what is learned
⟨HERMES⟩ They do these things, my child, by nature, not by knowledge or skill. Knowledge and skill can be taught; none of these irrational creatures is taught anything. Things that occur by nature arise through a general activity, while those that arise through knowledge and skill come to particular individuals, not to all. ⟨What occurs in all⟩ is brought about by nature. For example, ⟨all⟩ human beings look upward, but not all are musicians, archers, or hunters, or practice every other pursuit. Some of them have learned something through the activity of knowledge and skill.1100
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 41 · I.41.6.1–I.41.6.2
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
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.
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