Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.1–I.49.44.2
Ancient Greek
p. 123844.1 · Ἑρμοῦ τρισμεγίστου
Ἑρμοῦ τρισμεγίστου ἐκ τῆς ἱερᾶς βίβλου ⟨τῆς⟩ ἐπικαλουμένης Κόρης κόσμου.
Ταῦτα εἰποῦσα Ἶσις ἐγχεῖ ποτὸν Ὥρῳ γλυκὺ τὸ πρῶτον ἀμβροσίας, ὃ αἱ ψυχαὶ λαμβάνειν ἔθος ἔχουσιν ⟨ἀπὸ⟩ θεῶν, καὶ οὕτως τοῦ ἱερωτάτου λόγου ἄρχεται [Ἶσις]·
44.2
“Ἐπικειμένου, τέκνον Ὧρε, τῇ τῶν ὑποκειμένων φύσει πάσῃ τοῦ πολυστεφοῦς οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατ᾽ οὐδένα τόπον στερουμένου τινὸς ὧν νῦν ὁ σύμπας ἔχει κόσμος, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα ὑπὸ τῶν ὑπερκειμένων συγκεκοσμῆσθαι καὶ πεπληρῶσθαι φύσιν πᾶσαν τὴν ὑποκειμένην· οὐ γὰρ δήπου δυνατὰ κοσμῆσαι τὰ κάτω τὸν ὕπερθεν διάκοσμον. Ἀνάγκη τοίνυν τοῖς κρείττοσι μυστηρίοις εἴκειν τὰ ἐλάσσονα. Κρείσσων δὴ τῶν ὑποκειμένων ἡ τῶν μετεώρων ἐστὶ διάταξις καὶ τῷ παντὶ ἀσφαλής τε καὶ θνητῶν οὐχ ὑποπίπτουσα διανοίᾳ.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 123944.1 · Isis begins the sacred account
From Hermes Trismegistus, from the sacred book, ⟨the one⟩ called Korē kosmou.
Having said this, Isis first pours Horus a sweet drink of ambrosia, which souls are accustomed to receive ⟨from⟩ gods. In this way [Isis] begins the most sacred account:1512
44.2 · The order above and the world below
“My child Horus, since the many-crowned heaven stands over the whole nature of things below and nowhere lacks anything that the entire cosmos now possesses, it is altogether necessary that the whole nature below should have been ordered and filled by the things above. Surely the things below cannot order the arrangement above them. The lesser mysteries must therefore yield to the greater. The ordering of things aloft is superior to what lies below, wholly secure, and beyond the grasp of mortal understanding.1513
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.1–I.49.44.2
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.
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.