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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 47 · I.47.12.2–I.47.12.3

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 469 of 879

Book I Chapter 47 · I.47.12.2–I.47.12.3

Ancient Greek

p. 934

12.2

I.47.12.2

Τὸ μὲν γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν εὐκίνητον, ὅταν καὶ βραχὺ πάθος εἰς αὐτὸ ἐμπίπτῃ, διαδίδωσι κύκλῳ μόρια ἕτερα ἑτέροις, ταὐτὸν ἀπεργαζόμενα, μέχρι περ ἂν ἐπὶ τὸ φρόνιμον ἐλθόντα ἐξαγγείλῃ τοῦ ποιήσαντος τὴν δύναμιν. Τὸ δ᾽ ἐναντίον, ἑδραῖον ⟨ὂν⟩, κατ᾽ οὐδένα τε κύκλον ἰόν, πάσχει μόνον, ἄλλο δ᾽ οὐ κινεῖ τῶν πλησίον· ὥστε οὐ διαδιδόντων μορίων μορίοις ἄλλων ἄλλοις τὸ πρῶτον πάθος ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀκίνητον εἰς τὸ πᾶν ζῷον γενόμενον ἀναίσθητον παρέσχε τὸ παθόν.

12.3

I.47.12.3

Ταῦτα δὲ περί τε ὀστᾶ καὶ τρίχας ἐστὶ καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα γήινα τὸ πλεῖστον ἔχομεν ἐν ἡμῖν μόρια· τὰ δ᾽ ἔμπροσθεν περὶ τὰ τῆς ὄψεως καὶ ἀκοῆς μάλιστα διὰ τὸ πυρὸς ἀέρος τε ἐν αὐτοῖς δύναμιν ἐνεῖναι μεγίστην. Τὸ δὲ τῆς ἡδονῆς καὶ λύπης ὧδε διανοεῖσθαι δεῖ. Τὸ μὲν παρὰ φύσιν καὶ βίαιον γιγνόμενον ἀθρόον παρ᾽ ἡμῖν πάθος ἀλγεινόν· τὸ δ᾽ εἰς φύσιν ἀπιὸν πάλιν ἀθρόον ἡδύ· τὸ δὲ ἠρέμα καὶ κατὰ σμικρὸν ἀναίσθητον· τὸ δ᾽ ἐναντίον τούτοις ἐναντίως.

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Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 47

p. 935

12.2 · Transmission to the thinking faculty

I.47.12.2

For that which is naturally easy to move transmits even a slight affection that strikes it: its parts pass it around from one to another, producing the same effect, until they reach the thinking faculty and announce the power of what caused it. The opposite, ⟨being⟩ stationary and passing around no circuit, is affected alone and moves none of its neighbors. Thus, because the parts do not transmit the first affection to one another, it remains within them without moving into the whole creature and leaves the affected part unperceived.1203

12.3 · Earthy parts and the organs of sense

I.47.12.3

This occurs with bones, hair, and all the other predominantly earthy parts within us. The former condition occurs especially with the organs of sight and hearing, because the power of fire and air is greatest in them.1204 Pleasure and pain must be understood as follows. An affection that occurs violently and all at once, contrary to nature, is painful; a return to nature that likewise occurs all at once is pleasant. What happens gently and little by little is imperceptible; what is opposite to these behaves oppositely.1205

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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.