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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 49 · I.49.3.3–I.49.3.4

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Facing Pages · Branch 495 of 879

Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.3.3–I.49.3.4

Ancient Greek

p. 986

3.3

I.49.3.3

Ἐν πᾶσι δὲ οὐκ ἀφικνεῖται τὸ νοερὸν διὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος σύστασιν πρὸς τὴν ἁρμονίαν. Ἐὰν γὰρ ὑπερέχῃ ἐν τῇ συστάσει τὸ θερμόν, κοῦφος καὶ ἔνθερμος ⟨ἄνθρωπος⟩ γίνεται, ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ψυχρόν, βαρὺς καὶ νωχελὴς γίνεται· φύσις γὰρ ἁρμόζει τὴν τοῦ σώματος σύστασιν πρὸς τὴν ἁρμονίαν. Εἴδη δὲ τῆς ἁρμονίας τρία· τὸ κατὰ τὸ θερμὸν καὶ τὸ κατὰ ⟨τὸ⟩ ψυχρὸν καὶ τὸ κατὰ τὸ μέσον.

3.4

I.49.3.4

Ἁρμόζει δὲ κατὰ τὸν ἐπικρατήσαντα ἀστέρα τῆς συγκράσεως τῶν ἀστέρων. Παραλαβοῦσα δὲ ψυχὴ ⟨σῶμα⟩ καθὼς εἵμαρται, τούτῳ παρέχει ζωὴν τῷ τῆς φύσεως ἔργῳ. Ἡ φύσις τοίνυν ὁμοιοῖ τὴν ἁρμονίαν τοῦ σώματος τῇ τῶν ἀστέρων συγκράσει καὶ ἑνοῖ τὰ πολυμιγῆ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀστέρων ἁρμονίαν, ὥστε ἔχειν πρὸς ἄλληλα συμπάθειαν. Τέλος γὰρ τῆς τῶν ἀστέρων ἁρμονίας τὸ γεννᾶν συμπάθειαν καθ᾽ εἱμαρμένην αὐτῶν.

986

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49

p. 987

3.3 · Bodily constitution and intelligence

I.49.3.3

Intelligence does not reach everyone, because of the body’s constitution in relation to its harmony. If warmth predominates in the constitution, the ⟨person⟩ becomes light and ardent; if cold predominates, heavy and sluggish. For nature adjusts the constitution of the body to its harmony. There are three forms of harmony: that according to warmth, that according to cold, and that according to the intermediate condition.1260

3.4 · The harmony of the stars

I.49.3.4

Nature adjusts it according to the star that has prevailed in the blending of the stars. Soul receives a ⟨body⟩ as fate has ordained and gives life to this work of nature. Nature therefore makes the body’s harmony resemble the blending of the stars and unifies its many mixed constituents in accordance with the stars’ harmony, so that they have sympathy with one another. For the purpose of the stars’ harmony is to engender sympathy according to their fate.1261

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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.