Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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English Page · Branch 388 of 879
Book I Chapter 40 · I.40.1.14–I.40.1.16
Ancient Greek
p. 77214
Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐν τοῖς βυθοῖς κατὰ τὸ μεσαίτατον τοῦ κόσμου ἐρηρεισμένη ⟨γῆ πᾶσα καὶ πεπιεσμένη⟩ συνέστηκεν ἀκίνητος καὶ ἀσάλευτος· καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἐστὶ τοῦ κόσμου τὸ πᾶν ὃ καλοῦμεν κάτω.
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Πέντε δὲ στοιχεῖα ταῦτα, ἐν πέντε χώραις σφαιρικῶς ⟨ἐγκείμενα, περιεχομένης ἀεὶ τῆς ἐλάττονος τῇ μείζονι⟩ (λέγω δὲ γῆς μὲν ἐν ὕδατι, ὕδατος δὲ ἐν ἀέρι, ἀέρος δὲ ἐν πυρί, πυρὸς δὲ ἐν αἰθέρι) τὸν ὅλον κόσμον συνεστήσατο· καὶ τὸ μὲν ἄνω πᾶν θεῶν ἀπέδειξεν οἰκητήριον, τὸ κάτω δὲ ἐφημέρων ζῴων. Αὐτοῦ γε μὴν τούτου τὸ μὲν ὑγρόν ἐστιν, ὃ καλεῖν ποταμοὺς καὶ νάματα καὶ θαλάσσας εἰθίσμεθα, τὸ δὲ ξηρόν, ὃ γῆν τε καὶ ἠπείρους καὶ νήσους ὀνομάζομεν.
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Τῶν δὲ νήσων αἱ μέν εἰσι μεγάλαι, καθάπερ σύμπασα ἡ οἰκουμένη λέλεκται πολλαί τε ἕτεραι μεγάλοις περιρρεόμεναι πελάγεσιν, αἱ δὲ ἐλάττους, φανεραὶ δὲ ἡμῖν καὶ ἐντὸς οὖσαι. Καὶ τούτων αἱ μὲν ἀξιόλογοι, Σικελία τε καὶ Εὔβοια καὶ Κύπρος, Σαρδὰ ⟨καὶ⟩ Κύρνος, Κρήτη τε [καὶ Πελοπόννησος] καὶ Λέσβος· αἱ δὲ ὑποδεέστεραι, ὧν αἱ μὲν Σποράδες ⟨καὶ⟩ Κυκλάδες, αἱ δὲ ἄλλως ὀνομάζονται.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 40
p. 77314 · The center below
After these, in the depths at the very center of the cosmos, ⟨the whole earth, compacted together,⟩ stands firmly set, motionless and unshaken. This is the entire region of the cosmos that we call “below.”1000
15 · The five regions
These five elements, ⟨situated⟩ spherically in five regions, ⟨the smaller always enclosed by the larger⟩ (I mean earth within water, water within air, air within fire, and fire within aether), constitute the entire cosmos. They mark out the whole upper region as the dwelling of gods, and the lower as that of creatures of a day. Of this lower region, one part is wet, which we are accustomed to call rivers, streams, and seas; another is dry, which we name land, continents, and islands.1001
16 · Islands of the inner sea
Of the islands, some are great, as the whole inhabited world has been said to be, and many others surrounded by great seas; others are smaller, visible to us, and situated within. Among these, the notable ones are Sicily, Euboea, Cyprus, Sarda ⟨and⟩ Kyrnos, Crete [and the Peloponnese], and Lesbos. Others are lesser: some are called the Sporades ⟨and⟩ Cyclades, while others have other names.1002
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 40 · I.40.1.14–I.40.1.16
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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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