Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Book I Chapter 41 · I.41.9.2–I.41.10.1
Ancient Greek
p. 8789.2
Δοκοῦσι μέντοι μάλιστα θέσθαι οἱ ἀμφὶ Ὀρφέα τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα, ὡς δίκην διδούσης τῆς ψυχῆς, ὧν δὴ ἕνεκα δίδωσι· τοῦτον δὲ περίβολον ἔχειν, ἵνα σῴζηται, δεσμωτηρίου εἰκόνα· εἶναι οὖν τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦτο αὐτό, ὥσπερ ὀνομάζεται, ἕως ἂν ἐκτίσῃ τὰ ὀφειλόμενα, ⟨τὸ⟩ σῶμα, καὶ οὐδὲν δεῖν παράγειν οὐδὲν γράμμα.
10.1
⟨Πλουτάρχου.⟩
Ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐδήλωσε· τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ζώντων ἀεὶ δέμας προσαγορεύει, ὡς ἐν τούτοις·
ἐπεὶ οὔ ἑθέν ἐστι χερείων
οὐ δέμας οὐδὲ φυήν.
Τὸ δὲ ἀποβεβληκὸς τὴν ψυχὴν σῶμα καλεῖ·
Σῶμα δὲ οἴκαδ᾽ ἐμὸν δόμεναι πάλιν, ὄφρα πυρός με
Τρῶες καὶ Τρώων ἄλοχοι λελάχωσι θανόντα.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 41
p. 8799.2 · The body as a place of keeping
But it seems especially to have been the followers of Orpheus who gave it this name: the soul is paying a penalty for whatever it is paying a penalty for, and has this enclosure, like a prison, so that it may be kept safe. Thus this is, as its name says, ⟨the⟩ “keeping-place” of the soul until it has paid what it owes; and there is no need to alter a single letter.1129
10.1 · Attributed to Plutarch: Homer’s words for body
⟨From Plutarch.⟩1130
Homer too indicated this in the same way. He always calls the body of the living demas, as in these lines:
“For she is no worse than her
in build or stature.”
But what has lost its soul he calls sōma:
“Give my body back to my home, so that the Trojans
and the Trojans’ wives may grant me fire when I am dead.”1131
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 41 · I.41.9.2–I.41.10.1
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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.
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