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Book I Chapter 5 · I.5.15a–I.5.15b
Ancient Greek
p. 17615 ⟨Ἀετίου Δόξαι⟩ (αʹ)
⟨Χρύσιππος⟩ μὴ διαφέρειν τοῦ εἱμαρμένου τὸ κατηναγκασμένον, ⟨τὴν δὲ εἱμαρμένην εἶναι κίνησιν ἀΐδιον τῶν ὅλων⟩ κατ’ ἐπιπλοκὴν τῶν μερῶν συνηρτημένην.
Ἡράκλειτος οὐσίαν εἱμαρμένης ἀπεφαίνετο λόγον τὸν διὰ οὐσίας τοῦ παντὸς διήκοντα. Αὕτη δ’ ἐστὶ τὸ αἰθέριον σῶμα, σπέρμα τῆς τοῦ παντὸς γενέσεως καὶ περιόδου μέτρον τεταγμένης. Πάντα δὲ καθ’ εἱμαρμένην, τὴν δ’ αὐτὴν ὑπάρχειν ἀνάγκην· γράφει γοῦν· ‘ἔστι γὰρ εἱμαρμένα πάντως …’
15 ⟨Ἀετίου Δόξαι⟩ (βʹ)
Πλάτων λόγον ἀΐδιον τὴν οὐσίαν τῆς εἱμαρμένης, καὶ νόμον ἀΐδιον τῆς τοῦ παντὸς φύσεως.
Ποσειδώνιος τρίτην ἀπὸ Διός, πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ εἶναι τὸν Δία, δεύτερον δὲ τὴν φύσιν, τρίτην δὲ τὴν εἱμαρμένην.
Ζήνων ὁ Στωικὸς ἐν τῷ Περὶ φύσεως δύναμιν κινητικὴν τῆς ὕλης κατὰ ταὐτὰ καὶ ὡσαύτως, ἥντινα μὴ διαφέρειν πρόνοιαν καὶ φύσιν καλεῖν.
Ἀντίπατρος ὁ Στωικὸς θεὸν ἀπεφαίνετο τὴν εἱμαρμένην.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 5
p. 17715 ⟨Aëtius, Opinions⟩ (1)
⟨Chrysippus⟩ holds that what is compelled does not differ from what is fated, ⟨and that fate is an everlasting movement of the whole⟩, connected through the interweaving of its parts.193
Heraclitus declared that the substance of fate is the rational principle that pervades the substance of the universe. This substance is the ethereal body, the seed of the universe’s coming-to-be and the measure of its ordered cycle. Everything happens according to fate, and fate is also necessity. Thus he writes: “For things are altogether fated …”194
15 ⟨Aëtius, Opinions⟩ (2)
Plato holds that the substance of fate is an everlasting rational principle and an everlasting law of the nature of the universe.
Posidonius places fate third, counting from Zeus: Zeus is first, nature second, and fate third.
Zeno the Stoic, in On Nature, calls it a power that moves matter in the same way and manner; it makes no difference to call this power providence or nature.
Antipater the Stoic declared that fate is God.195
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 5 · I.5.15a–I.5.15b
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.