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Book I Chapter 52 · I.52.17.2–I.52.19.1
Ancient Greek
p. 163817.2
[Οἱ Στωικοὶ ὁρατὸν εἶναι τὸ σκότος· ἐκ γὰρ τῆς ὁράσεως προχεῖσθαί τινα ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸ αὐγήν. Καὶ οὐ ψεύδεται ἡ ὅρασις, βλέπεται γὰρ ταῖς ἀληθείαις ὅτι ἐστι σκότος.]
18
Χρύσιππος κατὰ συνέντασιν [τὰ ὄντα] τοῦ μεταξὺ ἀέρος ὁρᾶν ἡμᾶς, νυγέντος μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ὀπτικοῦ πνεύματος, ὅπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ μέχρι τῆς κόρης διήκει, κατὰ δὲ τὴν πρὸς τὸν περικείμενον ἀέρα ἐπιβολὴν ἐντείνοντος αὐτὸν κωνοειδῶς, ὅταν ᾖ ὁμογενὴς ὁ ἀήρ· προχέονται δ᾽ ἐκ τῆς ὄψεως ἀκτῖνες πύριναι, οὐχὶ μέλαιναι καὶ ὁμιχλώδεις· διόπερ ὁρατὸν εἶναι τὸ σκότος.
19.1
Πλάτωνος ἐκ τοῦ Τιμαίου.
Τῶν δὲ ὀργάνων πρῶτον μὲν φωσφόρα συνετεκτήναντο ὄμματα, τοιᾷδε ἐνδήσαντες αἰτίᾳ· τοῦ πυρὸς ὅσον τὸ μὲν καίειν οὐκ ἔσχε, τὸ δὲ παρέχειν φῶς ἥμερον, οἰκεῖον ἑκάστης ἡμέρας, σῶμα ἐμηχανήσαντο γίγνεσθαι.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 52
p. 163917.2 · A rejected parallel report
[The Stoics hold that darkness is visible, since a certain radiance pours onto it from sight. Nor is sight mistaken, for one truly sees that there is darkness.]1994
18 · The visual cone
Chrysippus holds that we see [existing things] through a joint tension of the intervening air. The air is struck by the visual breath, which extends from the ruling part to the pupil and, when directed upon the surrounding air, draws it taut in the shape of a cone, provided the air is uniform in nature. Fiery rays pour from the eye, not dark and misty ones; hence darkness is visible.1995
19.1 · The making of the eyes
Plato, from the Timaeus.
“Among the organs, they first fashioned eyes that carry light, binding them to the following cause. They contrived that the portion of fire which possessed no power to burn, but provided a gentle light akin to each day’s light, should become a body.”1996
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 52 · I.52.17.2–I.52.19.1
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.