Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
Swipe or use the arrow keys.
Facing Pages · Branch 646 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.51–I.49.44.52
Ancient Greek
p. 128844.51
Τούτων οὕτως γενομένων, τέκνον Ὧρε, ἰσχυρότατόν τι ἀπὸ γῆς ἀνίσταται πνεῦμα, ἀκατάληπτον μὲν περιοχῇ σώματος, δυνάμει δὲ φρονήσεως ὑπάρχον, ὃ καίπερ εἰδὸς ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐπυνθάνετο, τὸ σῶμα μὲν κατὰ τύπον ἀνδρὸς περικείμενον καὶ καλὸν καὶ σεμνοπρεπὲς ὄν, ὑπερβολῇ δὲ ἄγριον καὶ πλῆρες φόβου, τὸ δὲ παραυτίκα τὰς ψυχὰς εἰσιούσας εἰς τὰ πλάσματα θεωρῆσαν, “τίνες”, ἔλεγεν, “οὗτοι καλοῦνται, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, θεῶν ὑπομνηματογράφε;” Εἰπόντος δέ, “ἄνθρωποι, ⟨ὦ Μῶμε⟩”,
44.52
“Ὦ Ἑρμῆ”, ἔφη, “τολμηρὸν ἔργον ποιῆσαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, περίεργον ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ λάλον γλώσσῃ, ἀκουστικὸν μέλλοντα εἶναι καὶ τῶν αὐτῷ μὴ προσηκόντων, λίχνον ὀσφρήσει καὶ μέχρι πάντων τῷ τῆς ἁφῆς ἁπτικῷ μέλλοντα καταχρᾶσθαι. τοῦτον ἀμέριμνον καταλεῖψαι κέκρικας, ὦ γενεσιουργέ, τὸν ὁρᾶν μέλλοντα τολμηρῶς τῆς φύσεως τὰ καλὰ μυστήρια; ἄλυπον ἐᾶσαι θέλεις τοῦτον καὶ μέχρι τῶν περάτων γῆς τὰς ἑαυτοῦ μελλήσοντα πέμπειν ἐπινοίας;
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 128944.51 · Momus rises from the earth
When these things had happened, my child Horus, an exceedingly powerful spirit rose from the earth, beyond the grasp of bodily containment, yet existing as a power of understanding. Although it knew the matters about which it asked, it wore a body shaped like a man, beautiful and majestic, yet exceedingly wild and full of terror. Seeing the souls at that moment entering the fashioned bodies, it said, “What are these called, Hermes, recorder of the gods?” He replied, “Human beings, ⟨Momus⟩.”1562
44.52 · Momus questions unchecked human curiosity
“Hermes,” he said, “it is a bold undertaking to make the human being: inquisitive with the eyes, talkative with the tongue, ready to listen even to things that do not concern him, greedy in smell, and ready to use the grasping power of touch upon everything. Have you resolved, maker of living things, to leave this creature free from care, when he will boldly look into nature’s beautiful mysteries? Do you wish to leave him without grief, when he will send his designs to the very ends of the earth?1563
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.51–I.49.44.52
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
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.
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.