Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 608 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.39.8–I.49.40.1
Ancient Greek
p. 121239.8
Κατ᾽ ἄλλην τοίνυν διαίρεσιν οἱ μὲν ἑκούσιοι τρόποι νοοῦνται τῆς καθόδου ἢ ἑλομένης αὐτῆς τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν διοίκησιν τῶν περὶ γῆν, ἢ πειθαρχούσης τοῖς κρείττοσιν, οἱ δὲ ἀκούσιοι βιαζομένης ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον ἕλκεσθαι.
40.1 · Ἐν ταὐτῷ
Ἐν ταὐτῷ.
Οὐχ ἡ αὐτή ἐστι πασῶν τῶν ψυχῶν κοινωνία πρὸς τὰ σώματα, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ μὲν ὅλη, ὥσπερ καὶ Πλωτίνῳ δοκεῖ, προσιὸν ἑαυτῇ τὸ σῶμα ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῇ, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ αὐτὴ πρόσεισι τῷ σώματι, οὐδὲ περιέχεται ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ· αἱ δὲ μερισταὶ προσέρχονται τοῖς σώμασι καὶ τῶν σωμάτων γίγνονται καὶ ἤδη κρατουμένων τῶν σωμάτων ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς φύσεως εἰσοικίζονται εἰς αὐτά.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 121339.8 · Voluntary and involuntary descent
On another division, voluntary modes of descent are conceived either when soul itself chooses to administer earthly things or when it obeys higher beings. Involuntary modes occur when it is forced to be drawn toward what is worse.1486
40.1 · Universal and particular souls in bodies
In the same work.
The association of souls with bodies is not the same for all. The universal soul, as Plotinus too thinks, contains within itself the body that approaches it; it does not itself approach the body, nor is it contained by it. Particular souls, however, approach bodies and come to belong to them, taking up residence in bodies already governed by the nature of the universe.1487
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.39.8–I.49.40.1
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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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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.