Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 655 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.70–I.49.44.71
Ancient Greek
p. 130644.70
Γῆ παρῆν περίλυπος ἑξῆς καὶ † τάξομαι τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων, ὦ παῖ μεγαλόδοξε, οὕτως λέγειν ἤρξατο· “Βασιλεῦ καὶ τῶν οὐρανίων πρύτανι καὶ δέσποτα ἀψίδων, στοιχείων ἡμῶν ἡγεμὼν ⟨καὶ⟩ πάτερ τῶν σοι παρεστώτων, ἐξ ὧν αὐξήσεως καὶ μειώσεως ἀρχὴν ἔχει τὰ πάντα, εἰς ἃ καὶ πάλιν καταλήγοντα ἀναγκαίως ὀφειλόμενον τέλος ἔχει, ἀλόγιστος, ὦ πολυτίμητε, καὶ ἄθεος [ἀπ᾽] ἀνθρώπων ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ χορὸς ἔπεισι. χωρῶ δ᾽ ἐγὼ καὶ φύσιν πάντων· αὐτὴ γάρ, ὡς σὺ προσέταξας, καὶ φέρω πάντα καὶ τὰ φονευθέντα δέχομαι. ἀτιμοῦμαι δὲ ἤδη ὑπὸ πάντων· ὁ ἐπιχθόνιός σοι κόσμος πεπληρωμένος θεὸν οὐκ ἔχει. πάντα γάρ, ὃ φοβηθῶσιν οὐκ ἔχοντες, παρανομοῦσι καὶ κατ᾽ ἐμῶν, ὦ κύριε, τενόντων πάσῃ πονηρᾷ τέχνῃ καταπίπτουσι. καταβρέχομαι δὲ πᾶσα διαφθειρομένη σωμάτων χυλοῖς.
44.71
ἐντεῦθεν, κύριε, καὶ τοὺς οὐκ ἀξίους ἀναγκάζομαι χωρεῖν. χωρῆσαι θέλω μεθ᾽ ὧν φέρω πάντων καὶ θεόν. χάρισαι τῇ γῇ κἂν οὐ σεαυτόν, οὐ γάρ σε χωρεῖν ὑπομένω, σαυτοῦ ⟨γέ⟩ τινα ἱερὰν ἀπόρροιαν. στοιχείων τιμιωτέραν τῶν ἄλλων τὴν γῆν μεταποίησον. μόνην γὰρ αὐχεῖν τῶν ἀπὸ σοῦ πρέπει τὰ πάντα παρεχούσῃ.”
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 130744.70 · Earth’s grief and the godless throng
Earth was next present, deeply grieved, and † taking her turn to speak, my child of great renown, she began as follows: “King, governor of heavenly beings, master of the vaults, leader of us elements ⟨and⟩ father of those standing before you, from whom all things derive the principle of growth and decrease, and into whom they return to reach their necessarily owed end: an unreasoning, godless throng of [from] human beings assails me, much-honored one. Yet I contain the nature of all things. For I myself, as you commanded, bear everything and receive the murdered. Now everyone dishonors me. Your earthly world is full, but it has no god. Having nothing to fear, they break every law and fall from my ridges, lord, through every wicked contrivance. I am drenched everywhere, corrupted by the fluids of bodies.1581
44.71 · Earth asks for a sacred outflow
And so, lord, I am forced to contain even the unworthy. I wish to contain a god as well, together with everything I bear. Grant earth, if not yourself, for I cannot endure containing you, ⟨at least⟩ some sacred outflow of yourself. Make earth more honored than the other elements. For it is fitting that she alone should boast of what comes from you, since she provides everything.”1582
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.70–I.49.44.71
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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.
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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.