Stobaeus, Volume I

Name: Stobaeus, Volume I
Author: John Stobaeus

Greek with an independent English translation.

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Stobaeus, Volume IBook I Chapter 49 · I.49.38.5–I.49.39.1

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English Page · Branch 604 of 879

Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.38.5–I.49.39.1

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Ancient Greek

p. 1204

38.5

I.49.38.5

Οἱ δὲ τῆς φύσεως τὴν ψυχὴν μὴ διακρίνοντες πάλιν δὴ καὶ οὗτοι κατὰ διαίρεσιν τὸ ἄπειρον τῶν ψυχῶν γίγνεσθαι προσομολογοῦσιν, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἕκαστον τῶν φυομένων δένδρων μεριζόμενον ταὐτόν ἐστι τῷ ὅλῳ καὶ τῶν ἴσων αὐτῷ φαίνεται γεννητικὸν εἶναι.

38.6

I.49.38.6

Οἱ δ᾽ ἀπὸ Πλάτωνος ἀγενήτους καὶ ἀφθάρτους αὐτὰς προστησάμενοι ἑστάναι ἀεὶ κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν συμμετρίαν ἀφορίζονται, οὔτε γὰρ προστίθεσθαί τι αὐταῖς ἀπὸ τῆς γενέσεως οὔτε ἀφαιρεῖσθαι ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν μεθιστάμενον εἰς τὰ ἀπολλύμενα. Τοῦτο δὴ τὸ μέτρον οἱ μὲν περὶ Πλωτῖνον εἰς τὸν τέλεον ἀριθμὸν ὡς οἰκεῖον προσβιβάζουσι.

39.1 · ⟨Ἐν ταὐτῷ⟩

I.49.39.1

⟨Ἐν ταὐτῷ· περὶ διαφορᾶς καθόδου τῶν ψυχῶν.⟩

Πλωτῖνος μὲν καὶ Πορφύριος καὶ Ἀμέλιος ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπὲρ τὸν οὐρανὸν ψυχῆς καὶ πάσας ἐπίσης εἰσοικίζουσιν εἰς τὰ σώματα.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49

p. 1205

38.5 · Division and the growth of trees

I.49.38.5

Those who do not distinguish soul from nature likewise acknowledge that the infinity of souls comes about through division. For each growing tree, when divided, is the same as the whole and appears capable of generating others like itself.¹⁴⁷⁷

38.6 · An unchanging measure

I.49.38.6

Plato’s followers, positing souls as ungenerated and imperishable, determine that they always remain in the same proportionate measure. Nothing is added to them through generation, nor is anything removed from them by passing into the things that perish. The followers of Plotinus relate this measure to the perfect number as appropriate to it.¹⁴⁷⁸

39.1 · Differences in souls’ descent

I.49.39.1

⟨In the same work: on differences in the descent of souls.⟩

Plotinus, Porphyry, and Amelius make all souls alike take up residence in bodies from the soul above heaven.¹⁴⁷⁹

1477.The botanical comparison supports a view that does not separate soul from nature. “The same as the whole” describes the divided portion’s character or generative capacity in this argument, not numerical identity between all trees. The translation preserves the report’s “appears” rather than turning the example into an independent biological assertion.

1478.The contrast with the preceding accounts is an unchanging total measure, because souls neither originate nor perish. The passage names “the perfect number” but gives no numeral or calculation; none is supplied here. Symmetria is the fixed proportionate measure in this context. “Passing into the things that perish” is retained as the text’s compressed explanation of subtraction.

1479.The whole heading is restored here. Wachsmuth relocates to this excerpt the heading transmitted before the next, because he judges its subject to belong here. “From the soul above heaven” retains the singular source from which the plural souls are said to enter bodies. The compressed kai pasas episēs emphasizes that all are treated alike in this report.

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.