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Book I Chapter 3 · I.3.55c.2–I.3.56a
Ancient Greek
p. 14455c Ἐν ταὐτῷ (βʹ)
— Ἀλλ’ οὐ πάντων φυλάκων εἰσὶ μέγιστοι καὶ περὶ τὰ μέγισθ’ ἡμῖν οἱ πάντες θεοί; — Πολύ γε.
— Τοὺς δὴ κάλλιστά τε πράγματα φυλάττοντας διαφέροντάς τε αὐτοὺς φυλακῇ πρὸς ἀρετὴν κυνῶν χείρους καὶ ἀνθρώπων μέσων εἶναι φήσομεν, οἳ τὸ δίκαιον οὐκ ἄν ποτε προδοῖεν ἕνεκα δώρων παρ’ ἀδίκων ἀνδρῶν ἀνοσίως διδομένων; — Οὐδαμῶς· οὔτε ἀνεκτὸς ὁ λόγος τῶν τε περὶ πᾶσαν ἀσέβειαν ὄντων κινδυνεύει πᾶς ὁ ταύτης τῆς δόξης ἀντεχόμενος πάντων ἂν τῶν ἀσεβῶν κεκρίσθαι δικαιότατα κάκιστός τε καὶ ἀσεβέστατος εἶναι.
56 Πορφυρίου Περὶ Στυγός (αʹ)
Ἰνδοὶ οἱ ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλείας τῆς Ἀντωνίνου, τοῦ ἐξ Ἐμίσων ἐν τῇ Συρίᾳ [ἀφικομένου] Βαρδισάνῃ τῷ ἐκ τῆς Μεσοποταμίας εἰς λόγους ἀφικόμενοι, ἐξηγήσαντο, ὡς ὁ Βαρδισάνης ἀνέγραψεν, εἶναί τινα λίμνην ἔτι καὶ νῦν παρ’ Ἰνδοῖς δοκιμαστήριον λεγομένην, εἰς ἣν, ἄν τις τῶν Ἰνδῶν αἰτίαν ἔχων τινὸς ἁμαρτίας ἀρνῆται, ⟨εἰσάγεται⟩. Τῶν δὲ Βραχμάνων τινὲς δοκιμάζουσιν αὐτὸν τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον.
Πυνθάνονται τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, εἰ θέλει διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος γενέσθαι τὴν ἐξέτασιν, καὶ μὴ θέλοντα μὲν ὡς ὑπεύθυνον ἀποπέμπουσι τὴν δίκην ἀποτίσοντα· παραδεχόμενον δὲ τὴν βάσανον εἰσάγουσι μετὰ τῶν κατηγόρων· καταβαίνουσι γὰρ καὶ οὗτοι εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ, δοκιμασθησόμενοι μὴ συκοφαντῶσι.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 3
p. 14555c In the same work (2)
“Are not all the gods our greatest guardians, concerned with our greatest affairs?” “By far.”
“Then shall we say that those who guard the finest things, and themselves excel in the virtue of guardianship, are worse than dogs and ordinary human beings, who would never betray what is just for gifts impiously offered by unjust men?” “Certainly not. The claim is intolerable. Of all those involved in every sort of impiety, anyone who clings to this opinion might most justly be judged the worst and most impious of all.”
56 Porphyry, On the Styx (1)
Indians who, in the reign of Antoninus, the emperor from Emesa in Syria [who had arrived], came into conversation with Bardisanes of Mesopotamia, gave the following account, as Bardisanes recorded it. Even now, they said, there is a lake among the Indians called the “place of testing.” If an Indian accused of wrongdoing denies it, he ⟨is brought into⟩ this lake. Certain Brahmans test him in this way.152
They ask the man whether he wishes the examination to take place through the water. If he refuses, they send him away as liable to pay the penalty. If he accepts the ordeal, they bring him in together with his accusers; for these too go down into the water, to be tested as to whether their accusation is false.
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 3 · I.3.55c.2–I.3.56a
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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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