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 49 · I.49.41.2–I.49.41.3

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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.41.2–I.49.41.3

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Ancient Greek

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41.2

I.49.41.2

Γένοιτο δ᾽ ἂν καὶ ἄλλη τις δόξα οὐδέπω καὶ νῦν ῥηθεῖσα, ἡ λέγουσα πλείονας μὲν εἶναι τὰς δυνάμεις καὶ τὰς οὐσίας τῆς ψυχῆς, κατὰ καιροὺς δὲ ἄλλοτε ἄλλους, ᾗπερ ἂν ἐπιτηδείως ἔχῃ τὸ γιγνόμενον σῶμα, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα τῆς φύσεως μεταλαμβάνειν, ἔπειτα τῆς αἰσθήσεως, εἶτα τῆς ὁρμητικῆς ζωῆς καὶ τότε δὴ τῆς λογικῆς ψυχῆς, ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ τέλει τῆς νοερᾶς. Τοσαῦτα καὶ ἡ κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους συμφυομένη κοινωνία τῶν ψυχῶν πρὸς τὰ σώματα δέχεται δοξάσματα.

41.3

I.49.41.3

Ἀλλὰ μὴν ἔν γε τῷ τόπῳ τῆς εἰσόδου τῶν ψυχῶν, καθ᾽ ὃν ἐπιζητοῦμεν πῶς εἰσκρίνεται, μία μέν ἐστι τριπλῆ δόξα ἡ ἕλκουσα ἀπὸ τῶν ἐκτὸς τὴν ψυχὴν ἐν τῇ καλουμένῃ συλλήψει ἢ διὰ προθυμίαν τοῦ γεννῶντος διὰ τῆς ἀναπνοῆς, ἢ διὰ προθυμίαν τῆς ὑποδεχομένης [μήτρας], ὅταν αὕτη ἐπιτηδείως ἔχῃ πρὸς τὴν κράτησιν, ἢ διὰ συμπάθειαν ἀμφοῖν, ὅταν κοινῇ συμπνέοντα ἀμφότερα ἑλκτικὴν ἔχῃ τὴν ἰδιότητα συγκινουμένης καὶ τῆς φύσεως·

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49

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41.2 · A possible sequence of powers

I.49.41.2

There could also be another opinion, not yet stated even now: that soul has several powers and substances, and that at different times, according to the developing body’s readiness, it shares first in nature, then in perception, then in impulsive life, and subsequently in rational soul, with intellectual soul at the end. Such are the opinions admitted by the association of souls with bodies as it develops over time.¹⁴⁹⁴

41.3 · Drawing soul in from outside

I.49.41.3

As for the topic of souls’ entry, under which we inquire how soul is introduced, one opinion has three forms. It draws soul in from outside at what is called conception: either through the eagerness of the begetter, by means of breathing; or through the eagerness of the receiving [womb], when it is suitably disposed to retain it; or through the sympathy of both, when both, breathing together in common, possess an attractive property, nature also moving in concert;¹⁴⁹⁵

1494.This is explicitly a possible further account, not a teaching attributed to Hippocrates or Porphyry. The unusual “not yet stated even now” follows the printed oudepō kai nyn rather than the apparatus’s proposed revision. The body is understood as the subject of “shares.” Nature, perception, impulse, rational soul, and intellectual soul remain five stages, with no ages or durations supplied.

1495.Topos, literally “place,” is taken here as the topic under which the manner of entry is examined; the printed word is retained, not replaced by Heeren’s tropos, “manner.” The bracketed mētras, “womb,” is rejected in the apparatus, while an alternative “mother” is proposed there; both text and translation preserve the rejected word. “Breathing” stays in its printed position with the first alternative. Sympathy denotes a shared responsiveness in the reported account.

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.