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 13 · I.13.1c.2–I.13.1c.3

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Facing Pages · Branch 175 of 879

Book I Chapter 13 · I.13.1c.2–I.13.1c.3

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Ancient Greek

p. 346

1c ⟨Ἀρείου Διδύμου⟩ · 2

I.13.1c.2

Τὸ δὲ λεγόμενον τοιαύτην ἔχει δύναμιν· αἴτιόν ἐστι δι’ ὃ γίνεται τι, οἷον διὰ τὴν φρόνησιν γίνεται τὸ φρονεῖν καὶ διὰ τὴν ψυχὴν γίνεται τὸ ζῆν καὶ διὰ τὴν σωφροσύνην γίνεται τὸ σωφρονεῖν. ἀδύνατον γὰρ εἶναι σωφροσύνης περί τινα οὔσης μὴ σωφρονεῖν, ἢ ψυχῆς μὴ ζῆν, ἢ φρονήσεως μὴ φρονεῖν.

1c ⟨Ἀρείου Διδύμου⟩ · 3

I.13.1c.3

Χρυσίππου. Χρύσιππος αἴτιον εἶναι λέγει δι’ ὅ. Καὶ τὸ μὲν αἴτιον ὂν καὶ σῶμα, ⟨οὗ δὲ αἴτιον μήτε ὂν μήτε σῶμα·⟩ καὶ αἴτιον μὲν ὅτι, οὗ δὲ αἴτιον διά τι. Αἰτίαν δ’ εἶναι λόγον αἰτίου, ἢ λόγον τὸν περὶ τοῦ αἰτίου ὡς αἰτίου.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 13

p. 347

1c ⟨Arius Didymus⟩: Zeno, part 2

I.13.1c.2

The meaning of this statement is as follows: a cause is that because of which something occurs. For example, being wise occurs because of wisdom, being alive because of soul, and being self-controlled because of self-control. For it is impossible for someone to possess self-control without being self-controlled, or soul without being alive, or wisdom without being wise.³⁹⁴

1c ⟨Arius Didymus⟩: Chrysippus

I.13.1c.3

Chrysippus. Chrysippus says that a cause is that because of which. The cause is an existent and a body, ⟨whereas what it is a cause of is neither an existent nor a body.⟩ The cause is a “because,” and what it is a cause of a “because of something.” An explanation is an account of a cause, or an account concerning the cause as a cause.³⁹⁵

394.The English keeps the relation between the nouns phronēsis and sōphrosynē and their corresponding verbs, phronein and sōphronein. The verbal infinitives are rendered as “being wise” and “being self-controlled” because the point is the condition that follows from possessing wisdom or self-control. The cause and the predicate are distinguished even where their names share the same root.

395.The supplied clause is restored by Wachsmuth on the basis of the following report of Posidonius. The terse contrast between hoti, “because,” and dia ti, “because of something,” follows his printed wording and accentuation. Aition names the cause; aitia, translated “explanation” here, names the account of it. The formulation is compressed and its interpretation remains difficult.

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.