Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 456 of 879
Book I Chapter 47 · I.47.1.5–I.47.1.6
Ancient Greek
p. 9081.5
μέχρι περ ἂν ἑκατέρων ἡ ἐπιθυμία καὶ ὁ ἔρως ξυναγαγόντες, οἷον ἀπὸ δένδρων καρπὸν ἀποδρέψαντες, ὡς εἰς ἄρουραν τὴν μήτραν ἀόρατα ὑπὸ σμικρότητος καὶ ἀδιάπλαστα ζῷα κατασπείραντες καὶ πάλιν διακρίναντες, μεγάλα ἐντὸς ἐκθρέψωνται καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο εἰς φῶς ἀγαγόντες ζῴων ἀποτελέσωσι γένεσιν. Γυναῖκες μὲν οὖν καὶ τὸ θῆλυ πᾶν οὕτω γέγονε·
1.6
τὸ δὲ τῶν ὀρνίθων φῦλον μετερρυθμίζετο, ἀντὶ τριχῶν πτερὰ φῦον, ἐκ τῶν ἀκάκων ἀνδρῶν, κούφων δέ, καὶ μετεωρολογικῶν μέν, ἡγουμένων δὲ διὰ ὄψεως τὰς περὶ τούτων ἀποδείξεις βεβαιοτάτας εἶναι δι᾽ εὐήθειαν. Τὸ δ᾽ αὖ πεζὸν καὶ θηριῶδες γέγονεν ἐκ τῶν μηδὲν προσχρωμένων φιλοσοφίᾳ μηδὲ ἀθρούντων τῆς περὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν φύσεως πέρι μηδέν, διὰ τὸ μηκέτι ταῖς ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ χρῆσθαι περιόδοις, ἀλλὰ τοῖς περὶ τὰ στήθη τῆς ψυχῆς ἡγεμόσιν ἕπεσθαι μέρεσιν.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 47
p. 9091.5 · Conception and birth
until the desire and love of both bring them together and, plucking fruit as though from trees, sow in the womb as in a field living creatures invisible through their smallness and as yet unformed. They then differentiate these and nourish them within until they are large; afterward they bring them into the light and complete the birth of living creatures. Women, then, and the whole female sex came into being in this way.1170
1.6 · Birds and earthbound creatures
The tribe of birds was refashioned, growing feathers instead of hair, from harmless but light-minded men. They studied the heavens, yet in their simplicity supposed that proofs obtained through sight were the most reliable proofs about them. Land animals and beasts, in turn, arose from those who made no use of philosophy and gave no consideration at all to the nature of the heavens. They no longer used the revolutions within the head, but followed the parts of the soul around the breast as their rulers.1171
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 47 · I.47.1.5–I.47.1.6
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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.
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.