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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.6.1–I.49.6.2
Ancient Greek
p. 9966.1 · Τοῦ αὐτοῦ
Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
Ψυχὴ τοίνυν ἐστὶν ἀίδιος νοητικὴ οὐσία, νόημα ἔχουσα τὸν ἑαυτῆς λόγον, συννοοῦσα δὲ διάνοιαν τῆς ἁρμονίας ἐπισπᾶται. Ἀπαλλαγεῖσα δὲ τοῦ φυσικοῦ σώματος, αὐτὴ καθ᾽ αὑτὴν μένει, αὐτὴ ἑαυτῆς οὖσα ἐν τῷ νοητῷ κόσμῳ. Ἄρχει δὲ τοῦ ἑαυτῆς λόγου, φέρουσα ὁμοίαν κίνησιν [ἐν] τῷ ἑαυτῆς νοήματι ὀνόματι ζωὴν τῷ εἰς ζωὴν ἐρχομένῳ. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἴδιον ψυχῆς, τὸ παρέχειν ἑτέροις ὅμοιον τῇ ἰδιότητι αὐτῆς.
6.2
Δύο τοίνυν εἰσὶ ζωαὶ καὶ δύο κινήσεις. Μία μὲν ἡ κατ᾽ οὐσίαν, ἑτέρα δὲ ἡ κατὰ φύσιν σώματος. Καὶ ἡ μὲν γενικωτέρα, ⟨ἡ δὲ μερικωτέρα⟩. Καὶ ἡ κατ᾽ οὐσίαν ἐστὶν αὐτεξούσιος· ἡ δὲ ἀναγκαστική· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ κινούμενον τῇ τοῦ κινοῦντος ἀνάγκῃ ὑποτέτακται. Ἡ δὲ κινοῦσα κίνησις τῷ τῆς νοητικῆς οὐσίας ἔρωτι ᾠκείωται. Εἴη γὰρ ἂν ψυχὴ ἀσώματος ἀμέτοχος οὖσα τοῦ φυσικοῦ σώματος.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 9976.1 · Hermes: the soul’s own reason
By the same author.
Soul, then, is an eternal substance capable of thought, having its own reason as its object of thought; in thinking together with it, soul draws to itself an understanding of harmony. Released from the natural body, it remains on its own, belonging to itself in the intelligible world.1273 It rules its own reason, bringing a motion like [in] its own thought, life in name, to what comes to life. For this is peculiar to soul: to supply other things with something like its own distinctive character.1274
6.2 · Two lives and two motions
There are therefore two lives and two motions. One accords with substance, the other with the nature of body. The one is more general, ⟨the other more particular⟩. That which accords with substance is self-governing; the other is governed by necessity, for everything moved is subject to the necessity imposed by what moves it. The motion that imparts movement is bound to the love of the thinking substance. For soul would be incorporeal, having no share in the natural body.1275
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.6.1–I.49.6.2
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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.
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