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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 145 of 879
Book I Chapter 9 · I.9.17.2
Ancient Greek
p. 28617 Ἐν ταὐτῷ · βʹ
Τίνα, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, δύναμιν ἔχον; - Ἑρμηνεῦον καὶ διαπορθμεῦον θεοῖς τε τὰ παρ’ ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἀνθρώποις τὰ παρὰ θεῶν, τῶν μὲν τὰς δεήσεις καὶ θυσίας, τῶν δὲ τὰς ἐπιτάξεις τε καὶ ἀμοιβὰς τῶν θυσιῶν· ἐν μέσῳ δ’ ὂν ἀμφοτέρων συμπληροῖ, ὥστε τὸ πᾶν αὐτὸ αὑτῷ συνδεδέσθαι. Διὰ τούτου καὶ ἡ μαντικὴ πᾶσα χωρεῖ καὶ ἡ τῶν ἱερῶν τέχνη τῶν τε περὶ τὰς θυσίας καὶ τὰς τελετὰς καὶ τὰς ἐπῳδὰς καὶ τὴν μαντείαν πᾶσαν καὶ γοητείαν. Θεὸς δὲ ἀνθρώπῳ οὐ μίγνυται· ἀλλὰ διὰ τούτου πᾶσά ἐστιν ἡ ὁμιλία καὶ ἡ διάλεκτος θεοῖς πρὸς ⟨ἀνθρώπους καὶ πρὸς θεοὺς⟩ ἀνθρώποις καὶ ἐγρηγορόσι καὶ καθεύδουσι. Καὶ ὁ μὲν περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα σφοδρὸς δαιμόνιος ἀνήρ, ὁ δὲ ἄλλο τι σοφὸς ἢ περὶ τέχνας ἢ περὶ χειρουργίας τινὰς βάναυσος. Οὗτοι δὴ οἱ δαίμονες πολλοί τε καὶ παντοδαποί εἰσιν, εἷς δὲ τούτων καὶ ὁ Ἔρως.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 9
p. 28717 In the same work, part 2
“With what power?” I asked.
“To interpret and carry across to the gods what comes from human beings, and to human beings what comes from the gods: from the former, prayers and sacrifices; from the latter, commands and recompense for sacrifices. Being between the two, it fills the interval, so that the whole is bound together with itself. Through it all divination proceeds, as does the art of sacred matters concerning sacrifices, initiations, incantations, and all prophecy and sorcery. A god does not mingle with a human being; through this intermediary all intercourse and conversation takes place for gods with ⟨human beings, and with gods⟩ for human beings, whether awake or asleep. A man devoted to such matters is spiritual; one skilled in something else, in crafts or some manual occupation, is a mere artisan.321 These spirits are many and of every kind, and Love is one of them.”
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 9 · I.9.17.2
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.