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 28 · I.28.heading–I.28.1a.3

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Facing Pages · Branch 326 of 879

Book I Chapter 28 · I.28.heading–I.28.1a.3

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Ancient Greek

p. 648

Κεφάλαιον ΚΗʹ

I.28.heading

Περὶ κομητῶν καὶ διαϊττόντων καὶ τῶν τοιούτων.

1a ⟨Ἀετίου⟩ · 1

I.28.1a.1

Τῶν Πυθαγορείων τινὲς μὲν ἀστέρα φασὶν εἶναι τὸν κομήτην τῶν οὐκ αἰεὶ μὲν φαινομένων, διὰ δέ τινος διωρισμένου χρόνου περιοδικῶς ἀνατελλόντων· ἄλλοι δὲ ἀνάκλασιν τῆς ἡμετέρας ὄψεως πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον παραπλησίαν ταῖς κατοπτρικαῖς ἐμφάσεσιν.

1a ⟨Ἀετίου⟩ · 2

I.28.1a.2

Ἀναξαγόρας καὶ Δημόκριτος σύνοδον ἀστέρων δυοῖν ἢ καὶ πλειόνων κατὰ συναυγασμόν.

1a ⟨Ἀετίου⟩ · 3

I.28.1a.3

Ἀριστοτέλης τῆς ξηρᾶς ἐκ γῆς ἀναθυμιάσεως διάπυρον σύστασιν.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 28

p. 649

Chapter 28: Comets and shooting stars

I.28.heading

On comets, shooting stars, and similar phenomena.⁸³⁹

1a ⟨Aëtius⟩: Periodic stars and reflection

I.28.1a.1

Some Pythagoreans say that a comet is a star belonging to those which are not always visible but rise periodically at a definite interval. Others held that it is a reflection of our sight toward the sun, resembling appearances in mirrors.⁸⁴⁰

1a ⟨Aëtius⟩: Anaxagoras and Democritus

I.28.1a.2

Anaxagoras and Democritus held that it is a conjunction of two or more stars whose radiance combines.

1a ⟨Aëtius⟩: Aristotle

I.28.1a.3

Aristotle held that it is an incandescent formation of the dry exhalation from the earth.⁸⁴¹

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.