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Book I Chapter 47 · I.47.1.3–I.47.1.4
Ancient Greek
p. 9061.3
Τὴν τοῦ ποτοῦ διέξοδον, ᾗ διὰ τοῦ πνεύμονος τὸ πῶμα ὑπὸ τοὺς νεφροὺς εἰς τὴν κύστιν ἐλθὸν καὶ τῷ πνεύματι θλιφθὲν συνεκπέμπει δεχομένη συνέτρησαν εἰς τὸν ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς κατὰ τὸν αὐχένα καὶ διὰ τῆς ῥάχεως μυελὸν ξυμπεπηγότα, ὃν δὴ σπέρμα ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν λόγοις εἴπομεν. Ὁ δέ, ἅτε ἔμψυχος ὢν καὶ λαβὼν ἀναπνοὴν τοῦθ᾽ ᾗπερ ἀνέπνευσε, τῆς ἐκροῆς ζωτικὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐμποιήσας αὐτῷ, τοῦ γεννᾶν ἔρωτα ἀπετέλεσε.
1.4
Διὸ δὴ τῶν μὲν ἀνδρῶν τὸ περὶ τὴν τῶν αἰδοίων φύσιν ἀπειθές τε καὶ αὐτοκρατὲς γεγονός, οἷον ζῷον ἀνυπήκοον τοῦ λόγου, πάντων δι᾽ ἐπιθυμίας οἰστρώδεις ἐπιχειρεῖ κρατεῖν· αἱ δ᾽ ἐν ταῖς γυναιξὶ μῆτραί τε καὶ ὑστέραι λεγόμεναι διὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ταῦτα, ζῷον ἐπιθυμητικὸν ἐνὸν τῆς παιδοποιίας, ὅταν ἄκαρπον παρὰ τὴν ὥραν χρόνον πολὺν γίγνηται, χαλεπῶς ἀγανακτοῦν φέρει καὶ πλανώμενον πάντῃ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα, τὰς τοῦ πνεύματος διεξόδους ἀποφράττον, ἀναπνεῖν οὐκ ἐῶν, εἰς ἀπορίας τὰς ἐσχάτας ἐμβάλλει καὶ νόσους παντοδαπὰς ἄλλας παρέχει,
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 47
p. 9071.3 · The passage of seed
They pierced a connection from the outlet for drink to the marrow that extends continuously from the head down the neck and through the spine, which we called seed in our earlier account. This outlet receives and discharges the drink after it has passed through the lung, beneath the kidneys, into the bladder, and has been compressed by the breath.1167 The marrow, being ensouled and having acquired a breathing passage, instilled in the outlet through which it breathed a vital desire to flow out, and so produced the desire to procreate.1168
1.4 · The male organ and the womb
Hence the male sexual organ has become disobedient and self-willed, like a creature that will not listen to reason, and through frenzied desires attempts to dominate everything. For the same reasons, what are called the womb and uterus in women contain a creature desirous of childbearing. When it remains fruitless for a long time beyond the proper season, it bears this with angry resentment; wandering everywhere through the body, obstructing the passages of breath and preventing breathing, it produces extreme distress and all manner of other diseases,1169
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 47 · I.47.1.3–I.47.1.4
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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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