Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
Swipe or use the arrow keys.
Ancient Greek Page · Branch 523 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.13.6
Ancient Greek
p. 104213.6
Τί δέ, ἦ δ᾽ ὅς, ὦ Σιμμία, τῇδε; δοκεῖ σοι ἁρμονίᾳ ἢ ἄλλῃ τινὶ συνθέσει προσήκειν, ἄλλως πως ἔχειν ἢ ὡς ἂν ἐκεῖνα ἔχῃ ἐξ ὧν ἂν συγκέηται; - Οὐδαμῶς. - Οὐδὲ μὴν ποιεῖν τι, ὡς ἐγᾦμαι, οὐδέ τι πάσχειν ἄλλο παρ᾽ ὃ ἂν ἐκεῖνα ἢ ποιῇ ἢ πάσχῃ. - Συνέφη. - Οὐκ ἄρα ἡγεῖσθαί γε προσήκει ἁρμονίαν τούτων ἐξ ὧν ἂν συντεθῇ, ἀλλὰ ἕπεσθαι. - Συνεδόκει. - Πολλοῦ ἄρα δεῖ ἐναντία γε ἁρμονία κινηθῆναι ἂν ἢ φθέγξασθαι ἤ τι ἄλλο ἐναντιωθῆναι τοῖς αὑτῆς μέρεσι. - Πολλοῦ μέντοι, ἔφη.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 104313.6 · Harmony must follow its parts
“What about this way of looking at it, Simmias?” he said. “Do you think a harmony, or any other composition, can be in a condition different from that of the things of which it is composed?”
“Not at all.”
“Nor, I suppose, can it do or undergo anything other than what those things do or undergo.” He agreed.
“Then harmony cannot lead the things of which it is composed; it must follow them.” He agreed.
“Then a harmony is very far from being able to move or sound contrary to its own parts, or oppose them in any other way.”
“Very far indeed,” he said.1316
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.13.6
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.
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.