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Book I Chapter 47 · I.47.8.6–I.47.8.7
Ancient Greek
p. 9268.6
Μᾶλλον δὲ εἰ χρὴ τολμήσαντας εἰπεῖν τὸ ἀληθές, ὑπὲρ ἐκείνους ἐστὶν ὁ ὄντως ἄνθρωπος, ἢ πάντως ἰσοδυναμοῦσιν ἀλλήλοις. Οὐδεὶς μὲν γὰρ τῶν οὐρανίων ⟨θεῶν⟩ ἐπὶ γῆς κατελεύσεται, οὐρανοῦ τὸν ὅρον καταλιπών· ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος καὶ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναβαίνει καὶ μετρεῖ αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ πάντων μεῖζον οὐδὲ τὴν γῆν καταλιπὼν ἄνω γίγνεται· τοσοῦτον τὸ μέγεθός ἐστιν αὐτοῦ τῆς ἐκτάσεως.
8.7
Διὸ τολμητέον εἰπεῖν, τὸν μὲν ἄνθρωπον ⟨τὸν⟩ ἐπίγειον εἶναι θνητὸν θεόν, τὸν δὲ οὐράνιον θεὸν ἀθάνατον ἄνθρωπον. Διόπερ διὰ τούτων τὰ πάντα ⟨διοικεῖται⟩ τῶν δύο, κόσμου καὶ ἀνθρώπου, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ ἑνὸς πάντα.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 47
p. 9278.6 · The reach of the human being
Rather, if we must dare to tell the truth, the truly human being is above those gods; or at any rate they are equal in power. None of the heavenly ⟨gods⟩ will descend to earth, leaving heaven’s boundary. Yet the human being ascends even to heaven and measures it; and, greatest of all, he reaches the heights without even leaving the earth. So great is the extent of his reach.1195
8.7 · Mortal god and immortal human
Therefore we must dare to say that the human being ⟨who is⟩ earthly is a mortal god, and the heavenly god an immortal human being. Hence all things ⟨are governed⟩ through these two, cosmos and human being; but all are under the One.1196
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 47 · I.47.8.6–I.47.8.7
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.
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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.
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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.