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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.13.4–I.49.13.5
Ancient Greek
p. 104013.4
Καὶ μήν, ἦ δ᾽ ὅς, πρέπει γε, εἴπερ τῳ ἄλλῳ λόγῳ ξυνῳδῷ εἶναι καὶ τῷ περὶ ἁρμονίας. - Πρέπει γάρ, ἔφη ὁ Σιμμίας. - Οὗτος τοίνυν, ἔφη, σοι οὐ ξυνῳδός, ἀλλ᾽ ὅρα· πότερον αἱρεῖ τῶν λόγων, τὴν μάθησιν ἀνάμνησιν εἶναι, ἢ ψυχὴν ἁρμονίαν; - Πολὺ μᾶλλον ἐκεῖνον, ἔφη, ὦ Σώκρατες. Ὅδε μὲν γάρ μοι γέγονεν ἄνευ ἀποδείξεως μετὰ εἰκότος τινὸς καὶ εὐπρεπείας· ὅθεν καὶ τοῖς πολλοῖς δοκεῖ ἀνθρώποις· ἐγὼ δὲ τοῖς διὰ τῶν εἰκότων τὰς ἀποδείξεις ποιουμένοις λόγοις ξύνοιδα οὖσιν ἀλαζόσι, καὶ ἄν τις αὐτοὺς μὴ φυλάττηται, εὖ μάλα ἐξαπατῶσι καὶ ἐν γεωμετρίᾳ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις πᾶσιν.
13.5
Ὁ δὲ περὶ τῆς ἀναμνήσεως καὶ μαθήσεως λόγος δι᾽ ὑποθέσεως ἀξίας ἀποδέξασθαι εἴρηται. Ἐρρήθη γάρ που οὕτως ἡμῶν εἶναι ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ πρὶν ἢ εἰς σῶμα ἀφικέσθαι, ὥσπερ αὐτῆς ἐστιν ἡ οὐσία ἔχουσα τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν τὴν τοῦ ὃ ἔστιν. Ἐγὼ δὲ ταύτην, ὡς ἐμαυτὸν πείθω, ἱκανῶς τε καὶ ὀρθῶς ἀποδέδειγμαι. Ἀνάγκη οὖν μοι, ὡς ἔοικε, διὰ ταῦτα μήτε ὡς ἐμαυτοῦ μήτε ὡς ἄλλου ἀποδέχεσθαι λέγοντος ὡς ψυχή ἐστιν ἁρμονία.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 104113.4 · An argument that must be in tune
“Yet surely,” he said, “if any argument ought to be in tune, the argument about harmony ought to be so too.”
“It certainly ought,” said Simmias.
“But this argument of yours is out of tune,” he said. “Consider which account you choose: that learning is recollection, or that soul is a harmony.”
“By far the former, Socrates,” he said. “The latter came to me without demonstration, with a certain plausibility and attractive appearance; that is also why most people accept it. But I know that arguments which base their demonstrations on probabilities are impostors. Unless one is on guard against them, they deceive one thoroughly, in geometry and in everything else.”1314
13.5 · Recollection and what is
“But the argument about recollection and learning was stated on the basis of a premise worthy of acceptance. For our soul was said to exist even before entering a body, just as its reality exists, the reality bearing the designation ‘what it is.’ And I have, as I convince myself, established this adequately and correctly. For these reasons, then, it seems I must accept neither my own assertion nor anyone else’s that soul is a harmony.”1315
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.13.4–I.49.13.5
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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