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Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition

John Stobaeus

Stobaeus, Volume I

Greek with an independent English translation.

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Stobaeus, Volume IBook I Chapter 40 · I.40.1.68–I.40.1.69

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 408 of 879

Book I Chapter 40 · I.40.1.68–I.40.1.69

Ancient Greek

p. 812

68

I.40.1.68

Σειομένης τε γὰρ διεξᾴττουσιν αἱ τῶν πνευμάτων παρεμπτώσεις κατὰ ⟨τὰ⟩ ῥήγματα τὰς ἀναπνοὰς ἴσχουσαι, καθὼς ἄνω λέλεκται, καθαιρομένη τε ὄμβροις ἀποκλύζεται πάντα τὰ νοσώδη, περιπνεομένη δὲ αὔραις τά τε ὑπ᾽ αὐτὴν καὶ τὰ ὑπὲρ αὐτὴν εἰλικρινεῖται. Καὶ μὴν αἱ φλόγες μὲν τὸ παγετῶδες ἰαίνουσιν, οἱ πάγοι δὲ τὰς φλόγας ἀνιᾶσι.

69

I.40.1.69

Καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ μέρους τὰ μὲν γίγνεται, τὰ δὲ ἀκμάζει, τὰ δὲ φθείρεται· καὶ αἱ μὲν γενέσεις ἀνασηκοῦσι τὰς φθοράς, αἱ φθοραὶ δὲ κουφίζουσι τὰς γενέσεις. Μία δὲ ἐκ πάντων περαινομένη σωτηρία [δὲ] διὰ τέλους ἀντιπαρισταμένων ἀλλήλοις καὶ τὸ μὲν περικρατούντων τὸ δὲ περικρατουμένων φυλάττει τὸ σύμπαν ἄφθαρτον δι᾽ αἰῶνος.

812

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 40

p. 813

68 · Purification and mutual restraint

I.40.1.68

For when the earth is shaken, the intrusions of wind rush out, finding vents through ⟨the⟩ fissures, as was said above. Cleansed by rains, it washes away everything unhealthy; swept by breezes, it is purified both below and above its surface. Flames warm what is frozen, and frosts abate the flames.1053

69 · Generation and destruction in balance

I.40.1.69

Of particular things, some come into being, some reach their prime, and some perish. Generations counterbalance destructions, while destructions lighten the burden of generations. A single preservation achieved through them all [but], as they continually oppose one another and now prevail, now are prevailed over, keeps the whole imperishable through all time.1054

813

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.