Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.7–I.49.44.8
Ancient Greek
p. 124444.7
ἐμοὶ δὲ τῆς ἀνατολῆς γενομένης τοῖς πάντα βλέπουσιν ὀφθαλμοῖς τὰ τῆς ἀνατολῆς θεωρήσαντι ἀειδῆ καὶ ἐπισκοποῦντι βραδέως μὲν ἀλλ᾽ οὖν ἦλθεν ἡ ἀκριβὴς διάγνωσις πλησίον τῶν Ὀσίριδος κρυφίων ⟨Ἑρμῆν⟩ ἀποθέσθαι τὰ ἱερὰ τῶν κοσμικῶν στοιχείων σύμβολα. [Ἐπικατευξάμενος δὲ καὶ τοὺς λόγους τούσδε εἰπὼν εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀπῆλθεν.]
44.8
Ἀλλ᾽ οὐ καθῆκον ἀτελῆ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, ὦ τέκνον, ταύτην με καταλεῖψαι, εἰπεῖν δ᾽ ὅσα τὰς βίβλους κατατιθέμενος ἐξεῖπεν Ἑρμῆς. Ἐξεῖπε γὰρ οὕτως· ‘Ὦ ἱεραὶ βίβλοι, τῶν ἀφθάρτων αἳ τετεύχατέ μου χειρῶν, ἃς τῷ τῆς ἀφθαρσίας φαρμάκῳ χρίσας ἐπικρατῶ, ἀσαπεῖς παντὸς αἰῶνος καὶ ἄφθαρτοι διαμείνατε χρόνοις, ἀθεώρητοι καὶ ἀνεύρετοι γιγνόμεναι παντὶ τῷ τὰ γῆς ταύτης παροδεύειν μέλλοντι πεδία, ἄχρις οὗ γέρων οὐρανὸς συστήματα ὑμῶν ἄξια τεχνώσεται, ἃς ψυχὰς ὁ δημιουργὸς προσηγόρευσε.’
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 124544.7 · The hidden symbols near Osiris
but when my rising came, and with all-seeing eyes I contemplated the unseen things of the rising and examined them, precise knowledge came to me, slowly indeed, but nevertheless: ⟨Hermes⟩ had deposited the sacred symbols of the cosmic elements near the hidden things of Osiris. [After pronouncing a prayer over them and speaking these words, he departed into heaven.]1518
44.8 · Hermes addresses the sacred books
But it is not fitting, my child, for me to leave this promise unfulfilled. I must tell what Hermes said as he deposited the books. He spoke as follows: ‘O sacred books, fashioned by my immortal hands, which I hold in my power after anointing them with the drug of incorruptibility: remain free from decay for all eternity and imperishable through time, unseen and undiscovered by everyone who is to traverse the plains of this earth, until aged heaven fashions beings worthy of you, those whom the creator called souls.’1519
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.7–I.49.44.8
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.
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.