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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 264 of 879
Book I Chapter 21 · I.21.9.10–I.21.9.11
Ancient Greek
p. 5249 Ἑρμοῦ · 10
Ἔτι καὶ ἐν οὐρανῷ φερόμενοι ἀστέρες γεννῶσιν αὐτοῖς ὑπολειτουργούς, ⟨οὓς⟩ καὶ ὑπηρέτας καὶ στρατιώτας ἔχουσιν. Οὗτοι δὲ ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνων μιγνύμενοι φέρονται ἐν τῷ αἰθέρι αἰωρούμενοι, τὸν τούτου τόπον ἀναπληροῦντες, ὅπως μηδεὶς ᾖ τόπος ἄνω κενὸς ἀστέρων, συγκοσμοῦντες τὸ πᾶν, ἐνέργειαν ἰδίαν ἔχοντες, ὑποτεταγμένην δὲ ⟨τῇ⟩ τῶν τριάκοντα ἓξ ἐνεργείᾳ· ἐξ ὧν καὶ κατὰ τὰς χώρας φθοραὶ γίνονται τῶν ἄλλων ἐμψύχων ζῴων καὶ ἡ πληθὺς τῶν λυμαινομένων ζῴων τοὺς καρπούς.
9 Ἑρμοῦ · 11
Ὑπὸ δὲ τούτους ἐστὶν ἡ καλουμένη ἄρκτος, κατὰ μέσον τοῦ ζωδιακοῦ, ἐξ ἀστέρων συγκειμένη ἑπτά, ἔχουσα ἀντίζυγον ἑτέραν ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς. Ταύτης μὲν ἡ ἐνέργεια ἐστὶ καθάπερ ἄξονος, μηδαμοῦ μὲν δυνούσης μηδὲ ἀνατελλούσης, μενούσης δὲ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ τόπῳ, [τῆς] περὶ ⟨τὸ⟩ αὐτὸ στρεφομένης, ἐνεργούσης δὲ τὴν ⟨τοῦ⟩ ζῳοφόρου κύκλου ⟨περιφοράν⟩, παραδιδοῦσαν τὸ πᾶν τοῦτο ἀπὸ μὲν τῆς νυκτὸς ἡμέρᾳ, ἀπὸ ⟨δ᾽⟩ ἡμέρας νυκτί.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 21
p. 5259 Hermes: Subordinate stars
Stars moving in heaven also generate subordinate workers for them, ⟨whom⟩ they have as servants and soldiers. These, mingled by those others, are carried aloft in the aether, filling its region so that no place above is empty of stars. They help order the universe, possessing an activity of their own, yet one subordinated to the activity of the thirty-six. From them come the destruction of other ensouled creatures in the various regions, and the multitude of creatures that ravage crops.659
9 Hermes: The Bear and the daily turning
Beneath these is the so-called Bear, at the middle of the zodiac, consisting of seven stars, with another Bear as its counterpart above its head. Its action is like that of an axle: it neither sets nor rises anywhere, but remains in the same place, turning about that same point and producing the ⟨revolution⟩ of the sign-bearing circle, which hands this whole universe from night to day ⟨and⟩ from day to night.660
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 21 · I.21.9.10–I.21.9.11
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.
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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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