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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 158 of 879
Book I Chapter 10 · I.10.16b.1–I.10.16b.2
Ancient Greek
p. 31216b ⟨Ἀετίου⟩ · 1
Οἱ μὲν οὖν περὶ Ἀριστοτέλην καὶ Πλάτωνα διαφέρειν ἡγοῦνται ἀρχὴν καὶ στοιχεῖα.
Θαλῆς δ’ ὁ Μιλήσιος ταὐτὸν νομίζει ἀρχὴν καὶ στοιχεῖα. ⟨Πλεῖστον δὲ ὅσον διαφέρει ἀλλήλων. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ στοιχεῖα⟩ ἐστι σύνθετα, τὰς δὲ ἀρχὰς φαμεν εἶναι οὔτε συνθέτους οὔτε ἀποτελέσματα· οἷον στοιχεῖα μὲν καλοῦμεν γῆν, ὕδωρ, ἀέρα, πῦρ· ἀρχὰς δὲ λέγομεν διὰ τὸ οὐδὲν ἔχειν πρότερον ἐξ οὗ γεννᾶται, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἀρχή, ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖνο ἐξ οὗ γεννᾶται. Τῆς δὲ γῆς καὶ τοῦ ὕδατος ἔστι τινὰ πρότερον ἐξ ὧν γέγονεν, ὕλη ἄμορφος καὶ ἀνείδεος.
16b ⟨Ἀετίου⟩ · 2
Λέγει γοῦν ἐν Τιμαίῳ· “βουληθεὶς γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ἀγαθὰ μὲν πάντα, φλαῦρον δὲ μηδὲν εἶναι κατὰ δύναμιν, οὕτω δὴ πᾶν ὅσον ἦν ὁρατὸν παραλαβὼν οὐχ ἡσυχίαν ἄγον, ἀλλὰ κινούμενον πλημμελῶς καὶ ἀτάκτως, εἰς τάξιν αὐτὸ ἤγαγεν ἐκ τῆς ἀταξίας.”
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 10
p. 31316b ⟨Aëtius, Opinions⟩: principles and elements
The followers of Aristotle and Plato, then, consider principle and elements to differ.
Thales of Miletus considers principle and elements to be the same. ⟨But they differ from one another very greatly. For the elements⟩ are composite, whereas we say that principles are neither composite nor products. For example, we call earth, water, air, and fire elements; but we speak of principles because they have nothing prior to them from which they arise. Otherwise it will not be a principle; what it arises from will be the principle. Yet earth and water do have something prior to them from which they have arisen: matter without shape or form.353
16b ⟨Aëtius, Opinions⟩: quotation from Plato
Accordingly, he says in the Timaeus: “For god wished everything to be good and nothing bad, so far as was possible. He therefore took over everything visible, which was not at rest but moving discordantly and without order, and brought it from disorder into order.”354
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 10 · I.10.16b.1–I.10.16b.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.
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