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John Stobaeus

Stobaeus, Volume I

Greek with an independent English translation.

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Stobaeus, Volume IBook I Chapter 3 · I.3.56f–I.3.56g

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 77 of 879

Book I Chapter 3 · I.3.56f–I.3.56g

Ancient Greek

p. 150

56 Πορφυρίου (ϛʹ)

I.3.56f

Λέγουσιν δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς καύμασιν ἱδροῦν ὅλον τὸν ἀνδριάντα τοῦτον καὶ ῥιπίζεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν Βραχμάνων καὶ παύεσθαι τοὺς ἱδρῶτας· καὶ εἰ μὴ ῥιπίζοιεν, πολὺν φέρειν ἱδρῶτα, ὡς βρέχεσθαι τὴν περὶ αὐτὸν γῆν.

Ἐνδοτέρω δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ μετὰ πολὺ διάστημα εἶναι σκότος, ἔνθα μετὰ λαμπάδων εἰσέρχονται οἱ βουλόμενοι καὶ εὑρίσκουσι θύραν τινά· ἐξ ἧς θύρας προέρχεται ὕδωρ καὶ λιμνάζει περὶ τὰ τελευταῖα τοῦ σπηλαίου· καὶ ὡς δοκιμάζοντες ἑαυτοὺς εἰσέρχονται διὰ τῆς θύρας ἐκείνης. Καὶ ὅσοι εἰσὶ καθαροὶ ἀπὸ τῆς φαυλότητος τοῦ βίου εἰσέρχονται ἀνεμποδίστως εὐρυνομένης τῆς θύρας, καὶ εὑρίσκουσι πηγὴν μεγίστην ὕδατος πάνυ διαυγεστάτου καὶ ποτιμωτάτου, ἐξ ἧς τὸ ὕδωρ ἐκεῖνο προέρχεται.

56 Πορφυρίου (ζʹ)

I.3.56g

οἱ δὲ ἐν καταγνώσει ὄντες πολὺ θλίβουσιν εἰσελθεῖν διὰ τῆς θύρας ἐκείνης καὶ οὐ δύνανται στενουμένης αὐτοῖς· οἵτινες βιαζόμενοι ἐξομολογοῦνται ἐπὶ τῶν ἑτέρων εἴ τι ἥμαρτον, ⟨καὶ⟩ δέησιν ποιοῦνται ἵνα οἱ λοιποὶ εὔξωνται περὶ αὐτῶν, καὶ νηστεύουσι χρόνον τινὰ ἱκανόν.”

Ἐκεῖ φησιν εἰρηκέναι ⟨τοὺς⟩ περὶ τὸν Σανδάλην συνάγεσθαι τοὺς Βραχμᾶνας ἡμέρᾳ μέν τινι τεταγμένῃ· ἀλλὰ εἶναι μέν τινας ἐκεῖ ἔχοντας τὴν διατριβήν, τοὺς δὲ ἀλλαχόθεν συνιέναι θέρους ὥρᾳ καὶ περὶ τὸ φθινόπωρον πλεοναζούσης τῆς ὀπώρας ἐπί τε τὴν θέαν τοῦ ἀνδριάντος καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἀλλήλοις συμμίξαι καὶ εἰς τὸ πεῖραν ἑαυτῶν λαβεῖν, εἰ δύνανται εἰσελθεῖν διὰ τῆς εἰρημένης θύρας.

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Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 3

p. 151

56 Porphyry (6)

I.3.56f

“They also say that in hot weather this whole statue sweats. The Brahmans fan it, and the sweating stops; if they did not fan it, it would produce so much sweat that the ground around it would become wet.

“Farther inside the cave, a considerable distance beyond the statue, there is darkness. Those who wish enter with torches and find a doorway. Water comes out of it and forms a pool in the innermost part of the cave. They pass through that doorway as a test of themselves. Those who are free from baseness in their lives enter unhindered, as the doorway widens, and find a very great spring of exceptionally clear and drinkable water, from which that water flows.”158

56 Porphyry (7)

I.3.56g

“Those who stand condemned press hard to enter through that doorway but cannot, as it narrows against them. Under this constraint they confess before the others whatever wrong they have done, ⟨and⟩ ask the rest to pray for them. They fast for a considerable time.”

He says that Sandales’s companions reported that the Brahmans gather there on an appointed day. Some make their residence there; others come from elsewhere in summer and around autumn, when fruit is plentiful, to see the statue, to meet one another, and to test themselves as to whether they can pass through the doorway just described.159

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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.