DiotimosReading Desk

Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition

John Stobaeus

Stobaeus, Volume I

Greek with an independent English translation.

Explore the Lexicon
Stobaeus, Volume IBook I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.45–I.49.44.46

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

English Page · Branch 643 of 879

Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.45–I.49.44.46

Ancient Greek

p. 1282

44.45

I.49.44.45

Τάδε εἰπών, ὦ τέκνον Ὧρε, πάσαις αὐταῖς ἐχαρίσατο πνεύματα καὶ πάλιν ἐφώνησεν· “Ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ εἰκῇ καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν ἐνομοθέτησα τὰς μεταβολὰς ὑμῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον εἴ τι διαπράξετε ἄσχημον, οὕτως ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον εἴ τι βουλεύσεσθε τῆς ἑαυτῶν γενέσεως ἄξιον· ἐγὼ γὰρ καὶ οὔτις ἕτερος ἐπόπτης αὐτὸς καὶ ἐπίσκοπος ἔσομαι.

44.46

I.49.44.46

ἐπίγνωτε δὴ οὖν ὡς διὰ τὰ πρόσθεν πραχθέντα ὑμῖν κόλασιν ταύτην ὑπομένετε τὴν ἐνσωμάτωσιν. ἡ τοίνυν διαφορὰ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας ὑμῖν ἔσται ἡ τῶν σωμάτων, ὡς ἔφην, διαφορά, εὐεργεσία δὲ καὶ ⟨ἡ⟩ πρόσθεν εὐδαιμονία * * ἡ διάλυσις. τυφλωθήσεται δ᾽ ὑμῶν ἡ φρόνησις, ἐάν τι ἀνάξιον ἐμοῦ δόξητε πράσσειν, ὥστε φρονεῖν τὰ ἐναντία καὶ τὴν μὲν κόλασιν ὡς εὐεργεσίαν ὑπομένειν, τὴν δὲ εἰς τὰ βελτίονα μεταβολὴν ἀτιμίαν τε καὶ ὕβριν.

1282

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49

p. 1283

44.45 · The creator oversees the souls’ changes

I.49.44.45

Having said this, my child Horus, he bestowed breaths upon them all and spoke again: “I have not legislated your changes idly or at random. Just as they will be for the worse if you do something shameful, so they will be for the better if you resolve upon something worthy of your own origin. For I myself, and no other, shall be the observer and overseer.1556

44.46 · Rebirth, release, and distorted judgment

I.49.44.46

Recognize, then, that you endure this punishment, embodiment, because of your earlier deeds. The difference in your rebirth will therefore be the difference of bodies, as I said; but release is a benefit and ⟨the⟩ former happiness * * . Your understanding will be blinded if you decide to do anything unworthy of me, so that you judge things contrariwise: you will undergo punishment as though it were a benefit, and regard a change for the better as dishonor and outrage.1557

1283

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.