Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 648 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.55–I.49.44.57
Ancient Greek
p. 129244.55
δίδαξον ἐντεῦθεν ἐρᾶν τοῦ τι βουλεύεσθαι [ἵνα ἔχωσι καὶ τῆς ἀποτυχίας τὸ χαλεπὸν φοβηθῆναι], ἵνα τῷ τῆς λύπης δακνηρῷ δαμασθῶσι τῶν ἐλπιζομένων ἀποτυχόντες. χρεωκοπείσθω τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν τὸ περίεργον ἐπιθυμίαις καὶ φόβοις καὶ λύπαις καὶ ἐλπίσι πλάνοις.
44.56
ἐπάλληλοι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ἔρωτες νεμέσθωσαν, ἐλπίδες, ποικίλαι ἐπιθυμίαι, ποτὲ μὲν ἐπιτυγχάνουσαι, ποτὲ δὲ ἀτευκτοῦσαι, ἵνα αὐτοῖς καὶ τῆς ἐπιτυχίας ἡδὺ δέλεαρ ᾖ εἰς ἄθλησιν τελειοτέρων κακῶν· βαρείτω πυρετὸς αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ἐκκαήσαντες κολάσωσι τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν.”
44.57
Λυπῇ, τέκνον Ὧρε, τάδε ἑρμηνευούσης σοι τῆς τεκούσης; Οὐ θαυμάζεις, οὐ καταπλήσσῃ, πῶς ὁ τάλας ἄνθρωπος ἐβαρήθη; Τὸ δεινότερον ἐπάκουσον.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 129344.55 · Desire and disappointment as restraints
Teach them, then, to long to form some design [so that they may also have the hardship of failure to fear], so that, failing to obtain what they hope for, they may be subdued by the biting force of grief. Let the inquisitiveness of their souls be brought to bankruptcy by desires, fears, griefs, and deceptive hopes.1566
44.56 · Success as a lure to further suffering
Let successive longings, hopes, and varied desires feed upon their souls, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing, so that even success may be a sweet lure drawing them into a contest with more fully developed evils. Let fever weigh upon them, so that, burned through, they may chastise desire.”1567
44.57 · Isis asks Horus to consider the burden
Are you grieved, my child Horus, as your mother explains these things to you? Do you not marvel, are you not appalled, at how the wretched human being was burdened? Hear what is more terrible still.1568
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.55–I.49.44.57
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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.
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.