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On arithmetic · Arith.7
Ancient Greek
p. 247 Πλάτωνος ἐκ τοῦ εʹ τῶν Νόμων
Καὶ κοινῷ λόγῳ νομίσαντα πρὸς πάντα εἶναι χρησίμους τὰς τῶν ἀριθμῶν δυνάμεις καὶ ποικίλσεις, ὅσα τε αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ποικίλλονται καὶ ὅσα ἐν μήκεσι παρέχονται καὶ ἐν βάθεσι ποικίλματα καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐν φθόγγοις ⟨καὶ κινήσεσι⟩, ταῖς τε κατὰ τὴν εὐθυπορίαν τῆς ἄνω καὶ κάτω φορᾶς ⟨καὶ τῆς κύκλῳ περιφορᾶς⟩. πρὸς γὰρ ταῦτα πάντα δεῖ βλέψαντα τόν γε νομοθέτην προστάττειν πᾶσι τοῖς πολίταις εἰς δύναμιν τούτων μὴ ἀπολείπεσθαι τῆς συντάξεως. πρός τε γὰρ οἰκονομίαν καὶ πρὸς πολιτείαν καὶ πρὸς τὰς τέχνας πάσας, ἓν οὐδὲν οὕτω δύναμιν παρέχει παιδείας μάθημα μεγάλην, ὡς ἡ περὶ τοὺς ἀριθμοὺς διατριβή. τὸ δὲ μέγιστον, ὅτι τὸν νυστάζοντα καὶ ἀμαθῆ φύσει ἐγείρει καὶ εὐμαθῆ καὶ μνήμονα καὶ ἀγχίνουν ἀπεργάζεται παρὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ φύσιν ἐπιδόντα θείᾳ τέχνῃ.
Stobaeus, Volume I: On arithmetic
p. 257 Plato, from Book V of the Laws
And, speaking generally, one should recognize that the powers and varied combinations of numbers are useful for everything: both the variations numbers display in themselves and the patterns they produce in lengths and depths, and also in sounds ⟨and motions⟩, whether in the straight course of upward and downward movement ⟨or in circular revolution⟩. With all this in view, the lawgiver must direct every citizen, as far as each is able, to keep pace with this ordered study.
For household management, government, and all the arts, no single subject has such great educational power as the study of numbers. Most of all, it awakens the person who is naturally sleepy and slow to learn, making him quick to learn, retentive, and perceptive: through a divine art he advances beyond his own nature.22
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · On arithmetic · Arith.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.
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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.