Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 651 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.62–I.49.44.63
Ancient Greek
p. 129844.62
Εἶπε καὶ εὐθέως κοσμικῆς τῆς ἔτι μελαίνης ἑνώσεως διάστασις ἐγένετο· καὶ ἐφάνη μὲν οὐρανὸς ἄνω, συγκεκοσμημένος τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μυστηρίοις πᾶσι· κραδαινομένη ἔτι γῆ ἡλίου λάμψαντος ἐπάγη καὶ ἐφάνη πᾶσι τοῖς περὶ αὐτὴν συγκεκοσμημένη καλοῖς. Καλὰ γὰρ τῷ θεῷ καὶ τὰ θνητοῖς εἶναι νομιζόμενα φαῦλα, ὅτι δὴ τοῖς τοῦ θεοῦ νόμοις δουλεύειν ἐποιήθη.
44.63
Ἔχαιρε δὲ ὁ θεὸς ὁρῶν ἤδη ἑαυτοῦ τὰ ἔργα κινούμενα· πληρώσας δὲ τὰς ἰσοστασίους χεῖρας τῷ περιέχοντι τῶν ἐκ τῆς φύσεως ὑπαρχόντων καὶ τὰς δράκας καρτερῶς σφίγξας “λάβε,” εἶπεν “ὦ ἱερὰ γῆ, λάβε, πάντιμε καὶ εἶναι γενέτειρα μέλλουσα πάντων, καὶ μηδενὶ ἐντεῦθεν λείπεσθαι δόκει.” Εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς καὶ τὰς χεῖρας, οἵας δεῖ θεὸν ἔχειν, ἁπλώσας πάντα ἀφῆκεν ἐν τῇ τῶν ὄντων συστάσει.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 129944.62 · Heaven appears and earth takes form
He spoke, and immediately the still-dark unity of the cosmos was divided. Heaven appeared above, adorned with all its own mysteries. Earth, still quivering, became firm when the Sun shone and appeared adorned with all the beautiful things surrounding her. For even what mortals consider mean is beautiful to the god, because it was made to serve the god’s laws.1573
44.63 · The creator gives to earth
The god rejoiced to see his works now moving. Filling his hands, equal in extent to the encompassing space, with the things arising from nature, and clenching his fists firmly, he said, “Receive, sacred earth; receive, all-honored one, who are to become the mother of all. Henceforth consider yourself inferior to none.” The god spoke and, opening hands such as a god must have, released everything into the constitution of existing things.1574
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.62–I.49.44.63
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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.