Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 610 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.40.4–I.49.40.5
Ancient Greek
p. 121640.4
Οἶμαι τοίνυν καὶ τὰ τέλη διάφορα ὄντα καὶ τοὺς τρόπους τῆς καθόδου τῶν ψυχῶν ποιεῖν διαφέροντας. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ καὶ καθάρσει καὶ τελειότητι τῶν τῇδε κατιοῦσα ἄχραντον ποιεῖται καὶ τὴν κάθοδον· ἡ δὲ διὰ γυμνασίαν καὶ ἐπανόρθωσιν τῶν οἰκείων ἠθῶν ἐπιστρεφομένη περὶ τὰ σώματα οὐκ ἀπαθής ἐστι παντελῶς, οὐδὲ ἀφεῖται ἀπόλυτος καθ᾽ ἑαυτήν· ἡ δὲ ἐπὶ δίκῃ καὶ κρίσει δεῦρο κατερχομένη συρομένῃ πως ἔοικε καὶ συνελαυνομένῃ.
40.5
⟨Τινὲς δὲ τῶν νεωτέρων οὐχ οὕτως⟩ διακρίνουσιν, οὐκ ἔχοντες δὲ σκοπὸν τῆς διαφορότητος εἰς ταὐτὸ συγχέουσι τὰς ἐνσωματώσεις τῶν ὅλων, κακάς τε εἶναι πάσας διισχυρίζονται καὶ διαφερόντως οἱ περὶ Κρόνιόν τε καὶ Νουμήνιον καὶ Ἁρποκρατίωνα.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 121740.4 · Different purposes, different descents
I think that differences in purpose also make the modes of souls’ descent different. A soul descending for the preservation, purification, and perfection of things here makes its descent undefiled as well. A soul turning toward bodies for the exercise and correction of its own character is not entirely free from affections, nor is it left released on its own. A soul coming down here for punishment and judgment seems in some way to be dragged and driven together with others.1490
40.5 · The view that every embodiment is bad
⟨Some more recent thinkers do not make such⟩ distinctions. Without attending to the differences, they merge everyone’s embodiments into one and insist that all are bad, especially the followers of Cronius, Numenius, and Harpocration.1491
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.40.4–I.49.40.5
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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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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.