Stobaeus, Volume I

Name: Stobaeus, Volume I
Author: John Stobaeus

Greek with an independent English translation.

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Stobaeus, Volume IBook I Chapter 40 · I.40.1.44–I.40.1.46

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Book I Chapter 40 · I.40.1.44–I.40.1.46

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Ancient Greek

p. 794

44

I.40.1.44

Συλλήβδην δὲ τῶν ἐν ἀέρι φαντασμάτων τὰ μέν ἐστι κατ᾽ ἔμφασιν, ⟨τὰ δὲ καθ᾽ ὑπόστασιν. Κατ᾽ ἔμφασιν μὲν⟩ ἴριδες καὶ ῥάβδοι καὶ ἁπλῶς τὰ τοιαῦτα, καθ᾽ ὑπόστασιν δὲ σέλα τε διᾴττοντα καὶ κομῆται καὶ τὰ τούτοις παραπλήσια.

45

I.40.1.45

Ἶρις μὲν οὖν ἐστιν ἔμφασις ἡλίου τμήματος ἢ σελήνης, ἐν νέφει νοτερῷ καὶ κοίλῳ καὶ συνεχεῖ πρὸς φαντασίαν ὡς ἐν κατόπτρῳ θεωρουμένη κατὰ κύκλου περιφάνειαν. Ῥάβδος δὲ ἴριδος ἔμφασις εὐθεῖα· ἅλως δ᾽ ἐστὶν ἔμφασις λαμπρότητος ἄστρου περίαυγος, διαφέρουσα τῇ ἰδιότητι, ⟨ὅτι⟩ ἡ μὲν ἶρις ἐξ ἐναντίας φαίνεται ἡλίου τε καὶ σελήνης, ἡ δ᾽ ἅλως κύκλῳ παντὸς ἄστρου.

46

I.40.1.46

Σέλας δ᾽ ἐστὶ πυρὸς ἀθρόου ἔξαψις ἐν ἀέρι. Τῶν δὲ σελῶν τὰ μὲν ἀκοντίζεται, τὰ δὲ στηρίζεται. Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἐξακοντισμός ἐστι πυρὸς γένεσις ἐκ παρατρίψεως ἐν ἀέρι φερομένου ταχέως καὶ φαντασίαν μήκους ἐμφαίνοντος διὰ τὸ τάχος· ὁ δὲ στηριγμὸς χωρὶς φορᾶς προμήκης ἔκτασις καὶ οἱονεὶ ἄστρου ῥύσις· πλατυνομένη δὲ κατὰ θάτερον κομήτης καλεῖται.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 40

p. 795

44 · Appearances and physical formations

I.40.1.44

To sum up, some apparitions in the air occur as an appearance, ⟨others as an actual formation. As an appearance occur⟩ rainbows, rods, and things of that kind generally; as actual formations, shooting lights, comets, and similar things.¹⁰²⁸

45 · Rainbow, rod, and halo

I.40.1.45

A rainbow is an appearance of a segment of the sun or moon, seen along the circumference of a circle in a moist, hollow, continuous cloud that presents the image as in a mirror. A rod is a straight appearance of a rainbow. A halo is a surrounding appearance of a heavenly body’s brightness, differing in this characteristic: ⟨that⟩ a rainbow appears opposite the sun or moon, whereas a halo appears around any heavenly body.¹⁰²⁹

46 · Shooting and stationary lights

I.40.1.46

A luminous flare is the kindling of a mass of fire in the air. Some flares shoot out, while others remain in place. A shooting flare is fire generated by friction, moving rapidly through the air and presenting an appearance of length because of its speed. A stationary flare is an elongated extension without movement, like a stream from a star; when it broadens at one end, it is called a comet.¹⁰³⁰

1028.Emphasis is an appearance produced through reflected light in the explanation that follows; hypostasis is something physically constituted. This distinguishes optical appearances from bodies or fires thought actually to form in the air. The restored contrast is supplied from De mundo.

1029.The explanation treats the cloud as a reflecting surface. “Rod” translates rhabdos, a straight luminous band. The source’s distinction is the position of the appearance relative to the luminous body; the supplied “that” introduces it.

1030.Selas is a luminous blaze or flare. The author accounts for the apparent streak of a moving light by its speed, but places comets among stationary extensions of fire in the air. These are the text’s categories, not identifications with a modern class of objects.

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.