Stobaeus, Volume I

Name: Stobaeus, Volume I
Author: John Stobaeus

Greek with an independent English translation.

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Stobaeus, Volume IBook I Chapter 12 · I.12.1b.1–I.12.1b.2

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Book I Chapter 12 · I.12.1b.1–I.12.1b.2

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Ancient Greek

p. 334

1b ⟨Ἀρείου Διδύμου⟩ · 1

I.12.1b.1

Ἀριστοτέλους. Ταύτας δὲ τὰς ἀρχὰς ποτέ μὲν εἶναι φησιν Ἀριστοτέλης δύο, τήν τε ὕλην καὶ τὸ εἶδος, ὃ καὶ μορφὴν καλεῖ καὶ ἐντελέχειαν καὶ τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι καὶ οὐσίαν τὴν κατὰ τὸν λόγον καὶ ἐνέργειαν· οὕτως αὐτῷ πλούσιόν τε καὶ πολυώνυμόν ἐστι τὸ εἶδος.

Τοσοῦτο μὲν οὖν διαφέρειν τὸ εἶδος τῆς μορφῆς, ὅτι τὸ μέν ἐστι διῆκον διὰ βάθους, ἡ δ’ ἐπιπολαῖος· καὶ ἡ μὲν παραπλήσιος λευκότητι ⟨τῇ⟩ κατὰ τὴν ζωγραφίαν, τὸ δὲ τῇ περὶ τὴν τοῦ γάλακτος οὐσίαν· ταὐτὸν δὲ εἶδος λέγεται, καθ’ ὅσον τὸ μὲν εἰδοποιεῖ, τὸ δὲ διαμορφοῖ τὴν ὕλην.

1b ⟨Ἀρείου Διδύμου⟩ · 2

I.12.1b.2

Ἐντελέχειαν ⟨δ’⟩ αὐτὸ προσεῖπεν ἤτοι διὰ τὸ ἐνδελεχῶς ὑπάρχειν, ἢ ὅτι τῶν μετεχόντων αὐτοῦ ἕκαστον παρέχεται τέλειον· ὁ γὰρ χαλκὸς ἀνδριὰς οὐδέπω, πλὴν ὅτι μὴ δυνάμει, διαπλασθεὶς δὲ καὶ τὴν πρόσφορον λαβὼν μορφὴν ἐντελεχείᾳ λέγεται· τότε γὰρ ἀπείληφε τὸ τέλος.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 12

p. 335

1b ⟨Arius Didymus⟩: Aristotle, part 1

I.12.1b.1

Aristotle. Aristotle sometimes says that these principles are two, matter and form. He also calls form “shape,” “actuality,” “essence,” “substance according to its account,” and “activity”: so rich in meaning and so variously named is form for him.³⁷⁸

Form, then, differs from shape in this respect: form extends through the depth, whereas shape lies on the surface. Shape is like whiteness ⟨as found⟩ in painting, while form is like the whiteness belonging to the substance of milk. Yet both are called form, insofar as one gives matter form and the other gives it shape.³⁷⁹

1b ⟨Arius Didymus⟩: Aristotle, part 2

I.12.1b.2

⟨And⟩ he called it “actuality” either because it exists continuously or because it renders complete each of the things that participate in it. For bronze is not yet a statue except potentially; once shaped and endowed with the appropriate form, however, it is called a statue in actuality, for it has then attained its end.³⁸⁰

378.The passage is a report of Aristotle’s terminology, with an attribution to Arius Didymus supplied by Wachsmuth. Eidos, morphē, entelecheia, to ti ēn einai, ousia kata ton logon, and energeia are distinguished in English here because the report goes on to explain each expression.

379.The contrast is between a surface appearance and a determination extending through the thing. “Both are called form” interprets the compressed phrase tauton de eidos legetai; the report distinguishes form and shape while allowing them a common designation. The whiteness comparison follows Wachsmuth’s repaired text, including his printed supplement.

380.Entelecheia, “actuality,” is explained here through both endelechōs, “continuously,” and teleion, “complete.” These are the report’s own verbal associations. The bronze example contrasts the capacity to become a statue with the completed statue; telos, “end,” is the completion attained.

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.