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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.45.9–I.49.45.11
Ancient Greek
p. 132645.9
“Καλῶς”, εἶπεν Ὧρος, “ἅπαντά μοι, ὦ τεκοῦσα, πῶς δὲ εὐγενεῖς γίγνονται ψυχαί, οὐδέπω μοι διηγήσω”. “Ὃν τρόπον ἐπὶ γῆς, ὦ τέκνον Ὧρε, εἰσί τινες πολιτεῖαι διαφέρουσαι ἀλλήλων, οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ψυχῶν ἐστι. Καὶ αὗται γὰρ τόπους ἔχουσιν ὅθεν ὁρμῶσι, καὶ ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐνδοξοτέρου τόπου ὡρμηκυῖα εὐγενεστέρα ἐστὶ τῆς μὴ οὕτως ἐχούσης.
45.10
Ὅνπερ γὰρ τρόπον ἐπ᾽ ἀνθρώποις ὁ ἐλεύθερος εὐγενέστερος εἶναι δοκεῖ δούλου (τὸ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑπερέχον καὶ βασιλικὸν δουλοποιεῖ τὸ ὑπερεχόμενον ἐξ ἀνάγκης), οὕτω δή, ὦ τέκνον, καὶ ⟨ἐπὶ τῶν ψυχῶν ἐστιν⟩.”
45.11
“⟨Πῶς δέ, ὦ τεκοῦσα,⟩ ἀρρενικαὶ καὶ θηλυκαὶ γίγνονται ψυχαί;” “Αἱ ψυχαί, ⟨ὦ⟩ τέκνον Ὧρε, ὁμοφυεῖς εἰσιν ἑαυταῖς, καθάπερ ἐξ ἑνὸς οὖσαι χωρίου, ἐν ᾧ αὐτὰς διατυποῦται ὁ δημιουργός, καὶ οὔτε εἰσιν ἄρρενες οὔτε θήλειαι. Ἡ γὰρ τοιαύτη διάθεσις ἐπὶ σωμάτων γίγνεται καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ ἀσωμάτων.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 132745.9 · How souls become noble
“All is well explained to me, mother,” Horus said, “but you have not yet told me how souls become noble.” “Just as upon earth, my child Horus, there are communities differing from one another, so it is with souls. They too have places from which they set out, and the soul that has set out from a more illustrious place is nobler than one whose situation is otherwise.1602
45.10 · Free and enslaved as an analogy
For just as among human beings the free person is considered nobler than the enslaved person, since what is superior and royal in souls necessarily enslaves what is inferior, so indeed, my child, ⟨it is also with souls⟩.”1603
45.11 · Souls themselves are neither male nor female
“⟨And how, mother,⟩ do souls become male and female?” “Souls, ⟨O⟩ my child Horus, share the same nature, since they come from a single region in which the creator gives them form, and they are neither male nor female. For such a condition arises in bodies, not in incorporeal things.1604
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.45.9–I.49.45.11
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
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