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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.49.44.25–I.49.44.26

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 633 of 879

Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.25–I.49.44.26

Ancient Greek

p. 1262

44.25

I.49.44.25

“Τί οὖν, ὦ τεκοῦσα, ἐποίησαν αἱ ψυχαί;”

Καὶ εἶπεν Ἶσις· “Τὸ κεκερασμένον, ὦ τέκνον Ὧρε, τῆς ὕλης λαβόμεναι κατενόουν πρῶτον καὶ τὸ τοῦ πατρὸς προσεκύνουν κρᾶμα καὶ ὁπόθεν ἦν συμπεπλεγμένον ἐπεζήτουν. Τὸ δὲ ἦν αὐταῖς οὐκ εὔπορον ἐπιγνῶναι. Ἔνθεν δὴ καὶ ὅτι ἐπεζήτησαν ἐφοβοῦντο μὴ τῷ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑποπέσωσι χόλῳ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ πράττειν τὰ προσταχθέντα ἐτράπησαν.

44.26

I.49.44.26

Ἔνθεν ἐκ μὲν τῆς ἀνωτέρω ὕλης τῆς ὑπερβολῇ κοῦφον ἐχούσης τὸν ἐπίπαγον τὸ τῶν ὀρνέων γένος ἐμόρφουν· ἐν τούτῳ δ᾽ ἡμιπαγοῦς ἤδη τοῦ κράματος γενομένου καὶ ἤδη τὴν στερεὰν πῆξιν λαβόντος τὸ τῶν τετραπόδων γένος ἔπλασσον, τὸ θ᾽ ἧττον κοῦφον καὶ ἑτέρας ὑγρασίας δεόμενον εἰς διάνηξιν, τὸ τῶν ἰχθύων· ψυχροῦ δὲ τοῦ λοιποῦ καὶ ἤδη καταφεροῦς ὑπάρχοντος τὴν τῶν ἑρπετῶν αἱ ψυχαὶ φύσιν ἐκαινούργουν.

1262

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49

p. 1263

44.25 · Horus asks what the souls did

I.49.44.25

“What, then, mother, did the souls do?”

Isis said: “My child Horus, when they had taken the blended material, they first examined it, worshipped their father’s mixture, and sought to discover from what it had been compounded. But it was not easy for them to learn this. Then, because they had even made the inquiry, they feared falling under their father’s wrath and turned to carrying out his commands.1536

44.26 · Birds, quadrupeds, fish, and creeping creatures

I.49.44.26

From the upper material, whose surface film was exceedingly light, they formed the race of birds. Meanwhile, as the mixture became half congealed and had already acquired a solid consistency, they fashioned the race of quadrupeds; and from what was less light and required another moist medium for swimming, the race of fish. As the remainder was cold and already tended downward, the souls devised the nature of creeping creatures.1537

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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.