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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.4.1–I.49.4.2
Ancient Greek
p. 9884.1 · Τοῦ αὐτοῦ
Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
Ψυχὴ τοίνυν ἐστίν, ὦ Ἄμμων, οὐσία αὐτοτελής, ἐν ἀρχῇ ἑλομένη βίον τὸν καθ᾽ εἱμαρμένην καὶ ἐπεσπάσατο ἑαυτῇ λόγον ὅμοιον τῇ ὕλῃ ἔχοντα θυμὸν καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν θυμὸς ὑπερέχει ὕλην· οὗτος, ἐὰν ἕξιν ποιήσῃ πρὸς τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς νόημα, γίνεται ἀνδρεία καὶ οὐ παράγεται ὑπὸ δειλίας. Ἡ δὲ ἐπιθυμία ὑπερέχεται· αὕτη ἐὰν ἕξιν ποιήσῃ πρὸς τὸν τῆς ψυχῆς λογισμόν, γίνεται σωφροσύνη καὶ οὐ κινεῖται ὑπὸ ἡδονῆς· ἀναπληροῖ γὰρ ὁ λογισμὸς τὸ ἐνδέον τῆς ἐπιθυμίας.
4.2
Ὅταν δὲ ἀμφότερα ὁμονοήσῃ καὶ ἴσην ἕξιν ποιήσῃ καὶ ἔχηται ἀμφότερα τοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς λογισμοῦ, γίνεται δικαιοσύνη· ἡ γὰρ ἴση ἕξις αὐτῶν ἀφαιρεῖ μὲν τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τοῦ θυμοῦ, ἐπανισοῖ δὲ τὸ ἐνδέον τῆς ἐπιθυμίας. Ἀρχὴ δὲ τούτων ἡ διανοητικὴ οὐσία, καθ᾽ αὑτὴν αὐτὴ οὖσα, ἐν τῷ αὐτῆς περινοητικῷ λόγῳ κράτος ἔχουσα [τὸν ἑαυτῆς λόγον]. Ἄρχει δὲ καὶ ἡγεμονεύει ἡ οὐσία ὥσπερ ἄρχων· ὁ δὲ λόγος αὐτῆς ὥσπερ σύμβουλος.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 9894.1 · Hermes: soul, spirit, and desire
By the same author.
Soul, then, Ammon, is a substance complete in itself. At the beginning it chose a life in accordance with fate and drew to itself a reason resembling matter, possessing spirit and desire.1262 Spirit prevails over matter: if it forms a settled relation to the soul’s thought, it becomes courage and is not led astray by cowardice. Desire, however, is prevailed over. If it forms a settled relation to the soul’s reasoning, it becomes self-control and is not moved by pleasure; for reasoning supplies what desire lacks.1263
4.2 · Justice as a balanced disposition
When both come into agreement, establish an equal disposition, and both adhere to the soul’s reasoning, justice arises. Their equal disposition removes the excess of spirit and makes good the deficiency of desire. Their principle is the thinking substance, itself existing in its own right, possessing power in its encompassing reason [its own reason]. The substance rules and leads like a ruler, while its reason acts like a counselor.1264
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.4.1–I.49.4.2
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.
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