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On arithmetic · Arith.6
Ancient Greek
p. 226 Ἐκ τῶν Ἀριστοξένου περὶ ἀριθμητικῆς
Τὴν δὲ περὶ τοὺς ἀριθμοὺς πραγματείαν μάλιστα πάντων τιμῆσαι δοκεῖ Πυθαγόρας καὶ προαγαγεῖν εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν, ἀπαγαγὼν ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ἐμπόρων χρείας, πάντα τὰ πράγματα ἀπεικάζων τοῖς ἀριθμοῖς. Τὰ τε γὰρ ἄλλα ἀριθμὸς ἔχει καὶ λόγος ἐστὶ πάντων τῶν ἀριθμῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους. Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ Ἑρμοῦ φασὶν εὕρημα, ὃν καλοῦσι Θώθ· οἱ δὲ ἐκ τῶν θείων περιφορῶν ἐπινοηθῆναι. Μονὰς μὲν οὖν ἐστιν ἀρχὴ ἀριθμοῦ, ἀριθμὸς δὲ τὸ ἐκ τῶν μονάδων πλῆθος συγκείμενον. Τῶν δὲ ἀριθμῶν ἄρτιοι μέν εἰσιν οἱ εἰς ἴσα διαιρούμενοι, περισσοὶ δὲ οἱ εἰς ἄνισα καὶ μέσον ἔχοντες. Οὕτως ἐν περισσαῖς ἡμέραις αἱ κρίσεις τῶν νοσημάτων γίνεσθαι δοκοῦσι καὶ αἱ μεταβολαί, ὅτι ὁ περισσὸς καὶ ἀρχὴν καὶ τελευτὴν καὶ μέσον ἔχει ἀρχῆς καὶ ἀκμῆς καὶ παρακμῆς ἐχομέναι.
Stobaeus, Volume I: On arithmetic
p. 236 From Aristoxenus, On Arithmetic
Pythagoras seems to have honored the study of numbers more than anyone else and to have advanced it, taking it beyond the needs of merchants and likening all things to numbers. For number embraces the other things, and all numbers stand in a ratio to one another. The Egyptians say that it was an invention of Hermes, whom they call Thoth; others say that it was conceived from the divine revolutions.20
The monad, then, is the beginning of number, and number is a multitude composed of monads. Of numbers, the even are those divided into equal parts, the odd those divided into unequal parts and possessing a middle. Thus the crises and changes of illnesses are thought to occur on odd days, because odd number has a beginning, an end, and a middle, corresponding to onset, culmination, and decline.21
Socrates
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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.
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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.