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English Page · Branch 479 of 879
Book I Chapter 48 · I.48.4.1–I.48.4.2
Ancient Greek
p. 9544.1 · Πορφυρίου
Πορφυρίου ἐκ τῶν Πρὸς τὰ νοητὰ ἀφορμῶν.
Πᾶν γενητὸν ἀπ᾽ ἄλλου τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς γενέσεως ἔχει, εἴ γε μηδὲν ἀναιτίως γίγνεται. Ἀλλὰ τῶν γε γενητῶν ὅσα μὲν διὰ συνθέσεως κέκτηται τὸ εἶναι, λυτὰ ἂν εἴη καὶ διὰ τοῦτο φθαρτά· ὅσα δὲ ἁπλᾶ καὶ ἀσύνθετα ὄντα ἐν τῷ ἁπλῷ τῆς ὑποστάσεως κέκτηται τὸ εἶναι, ἄλυτα ὄντα, ἔστι μὲν ἄφθαρτα, γενητὰ δὲ λέγεται, οὐ τῷ σύνθετα εἶναι, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἀπ᾽ αἰτίου τινὸς ἀνηρτῆσθαι.
4.2
Τὰ μὲν οὖν σώματα διχῶς γενητὰ καὶ ὡς ἀπ᾽ αἰτίας ἠρτημένα τῆς παραγούσης καὶ ὡς σύνθετα· ψυχὴ δὲ καὶ νοῦς γενητά, ὡς ἀπ᾽ αἰτίας ἠρτημένα μόνον, οὐ μὴν καὶ ὡς σύνθετα. Τὰ μὲν ἄρα σώματα γενητὰ καὶ λυτὰ καὶ φθαρτά· τὰ δὲ ἀγένητα μὲν ὡς ἀσύνθετα καὶ ταύτῃ καὶ ἄλυτα καὶ ἄφθαρτα, γενητὰ δὲ ὡς ⟨ἀπ᾽⟩ αἰτίου ἠρτημένα.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 48
p. 9554.1 · Porphyry: two senses of being generated
From Porphyry, from Starting Points toward the Intelligibles.
Everything generated has the cause of its generation in something else, if indeed nothing comes into being without a cause. But among generated things, those that possess their being through composition would be dissoluble and for that reason perishable. Those, however, that are simple and uncompounded and possess their being in the simplicity of their subsistence are indissoluble and therefore imperishable. They are nevertheless called generated, because they depend upon some cause, not because they are compounded.1223
4.2 · Bodies, soul, and intellect
Bodies, then, are generated in two respects: they depend on the cause that brings them forth, and they are compounded. Soul and intellect are generated only in that they depend on a cause, and not also in that they are compounded. Bodies, therefore, are generated, dissoluble, and perishable. The others are ungenerated in being uncompounded, and in this respect also indissoluble and imperishable; yet they are generated in depending ⟨upon⟩ a cause.1224
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 48 · I.48.4.1–I.48.4.2
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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.
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