Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 659 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.79–I.49.44.80
Ancient Greek
p. 131444.79
οὗτοι τὸ περιέχον ὅτι δαιμόνων ἐπληρώθη παρὰ Ἑρμοῦ μαθόντες, κρυπταῖς στήλαις ἐχάραξαν· οὗτοι μόνοι τὰς κρυπτὰς νομοθεσίας τοῦ θεοῦ παρὰ Ἑρμοῦ μαθόντες τεχνῶν καὶ ἐπιστημῶν καὶ ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἁπάντων εἰσηγηταὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐγένοντο καὶ νομοθέται· οὗτοι παρ᾽ Ἑρμοῦ μαθόντες ὡς τὰ κάτω συμπαθεῖν τοῖς ἄνω ὑπὸ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ διετάγη, τὰς προσκαθέτους τοῖς ἐν οὐρανῷ μυστηρίοις ἱεροποιίας ἀνέστησαν ἐν γῇ·
44.80
οὗτοι τὸ φθόριμον τῶν σωμάτων ἐπιγνόντες τὸ ἐν ἅπασι τέλειον τῶν προφητῶν ἐτεχνάσαντο, ὡς μήποτε ὁ μέλλων θεοῖς προσάγειν χεῖρας προφήτης ἀγνοῇ τι τῶν ὄντων· ἵνα φιλοσοφία μὲν καὶ μαγεία ψυχὴν τρέφῃ, σῴζῃ δ᾽ ὅταν τι πάσχῃ ἰατρικὴ σῶμα.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 131544.79 · Hidden laws and rites on earth
They learned from Hermes that the surrounding realm was filled with daimons and engraved this upon hidden stelae. They alone learned the god’s hidden ordinances from Hermes and became the introducers and lawgivers of all arts, sciences, and pursuits among human beings. They learned from Hermes that the creator had ordained the things below to share in the affections of those above, and established on earth sacred rites corresponding to the mysteries in heaven;1590
44.80 · The complete training of prophets
They recognized the perishability of bodies and devised the prophets’ completeness in every field, so that the prophet who is to raise his hands to the gods should be ignorant of none of the things that exist: philosophy and magic are to nourish the soul, and medicine to preserve the body whenever it suffers.1591
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.44.79–I.49.44.80
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.