Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 252 of 879
Book I Chapter 21 · I.21.4.3–I.21.5.2
Ancient Greek
p. 5004 ⟨Πλουτάρχου⟩ · 3
Τὴν γὰρ γῆν μετέωρον γενήσεσθαί φησιν ἐξ ἕδρας ἀνασπασθεῖσαν ὡς τὴν κατωτάτω [ὡς τὴν ἀνωτάτω].
5 ⟨Ἀρείου Διδύμου⟩ · 1
Χρυσίππου. Κόσμον δ᾽ εἶναί φησιν ὁ Χρύσιππος σύστημα ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς καὶ τῶν ἐν τούτοις φύσεων· ἢ τὸ ἐκ θεῶν καὶ ἀνθρώπων σύστημα καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἕνεκα τούτων γεγονότων. Λέγεται δ᾽ ἑτέρως κόσμος ὁ θεός, καθ᾽ ὃν ἡ διακόσμησις γίνεται καὶ τελειοῦται.
5 ⟨Ἀρείου Διδύμου⟩ · 2
Τοῦ δὲ κατὰ τὴν διακόσμησιν λεγομένου κόσμου τὸ μὲν εἶναι περιφερόμενον περὶ τὸ μέσον, τὸ δ᾽ ὑπομένον· περιφερόμενον μὲν τὸν αἰθέρα, ὑπομένον δὲ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὰ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς ὑγρὰ καὶ τὸν ἀέρα. Τὸ γὰρ τῆς πάσης οὐσίας πυκνότατον ὑπέρεισμα πάντων εἶναι κατὰ φύσιν, ὅνπερ τρόπον ἐν ζῴῳ τὰ ὀστέα, τοῦτο δὲ καλεῖσθαι γῆν.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 21
p. 5014 ⟨Plutarch⟩: Zeus’s chain
But if I in my turn were minded to pull with a will, I would pull you up, earth itself and sea itself with you; then I would fasten the chain around a peak of Olympus, and all would hang suspended in the air.
For he says that earth will be suspended, pulled up from its seat as the lowest region [as the highest region].627
5 ⟨Arius Didymus⟩: Chrysippus on “world”
From Chrysippus. Chrysippus says that the world is a system consisting of heaven, earth, and the natures within them; or the system consisting of gods, human beings, and the things that have come into being for their sake. In another sense, God is called “world,” as that according to which the ordering of the world arises and is brought to completion.628
5 ⟨Arius Didymus⟩: The world’s support
Of the world so called in respect of its ordering, one part revolves around the center and another stays in place: the aether revolves, while earth, the liquids upon it, and air stay in place. For the densest part of all substance naturally supports everything, as bones do in an animal; this is called earth.629
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 21 · I.21.4.3–I.21.5.2
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.