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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.39.6–I.49.39.7
Ancient Greek
p. 121039.6
Ἀπὸ μὲν δὴ τοσούτων καὶ οὕτω διαφερόντων μερῶν γίγνεσθαι διαφερούσας τὰς τῇδε καθόδους, αὐτοὺς δὲ τοὺς τρόπους διίστασθαι πολυειδῶς. Ἡράκλειτος μὲν γὰρ ἀμοιβὰς ἀναγκαίας τίθεται ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων, ὁδόν τε ἄνω καὶ κάτω διαπορεύεσθαι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑπείληφε καὶ τὸ μὲν τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐπιμένειν κάματον εἶναι, τὸ δὲ μεταβάλλειν φέρειν ἀνάπαυσιν.
39.7
Οἱ δὲ περὶ Ταῦρον Πλατωνικοὶ πέμπεσθαι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑπὸ θεῶν εἰς γῆν λέγουσιν, οἱ μὲν ἑπομένως τῷ Τιμαίῳ παραδιδόντες ὅτι εἰς τελείωσιν τοῦ παντός, ὥστε εἶναι καὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τοσαῦτα ζῷα, ὅσα εἰσὶν ἐν τῷ νοητῷ· οἱ δὲ εἰς θείας ζωῆς ἐπίδειξιν τὸ τέλος ἀναφέροντες τῆς καθόδου. ταύτην γὰρ εἶναι τὴν βούλησιν τῶν θεῶν, θεοὺς ἐκφαίνεσθαι διὰ τῶν ψυχῶν· προέρχονται γὰρ εἰς τοὔμφανες οἱ θεοὶ καὶ ἐπιδείκνυνται διὰ τῶν ψυχῶν καθαρᾶς καὶ ἀχράντου ζωῆς.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 121139.6 · Heraclitus: change and rest
Descents into this world thus differ because they begin from so many and such different regions; their very modes also differ in many ways. Heraclitus posits necessary exchanges between opposites. He has supposed that souls travel a road upward and downward, that remaining in the same conditions is weariness, and that change brings rest.1484
39.7 · Completing the cosmos and revealing the gods
The Platonists around Taurus say that souls are sent to earth by gods. Some, following the Timaeus, teach that this is for the completion of the universe, so that there may be as many living beings in the cosmos as there are in the intelligible realm. Others refer the purpose of descent to a manifestation of divine life. For this, they say, is the will of the gods: that gods should be revealed through souls. The gods come into manifestation and display themselves through the pure and undefiled life of souls.1485
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.39.6–I.49.39.7
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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.
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.