Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 708 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.57.3–I.49.57.4
Ancient Greek
p. 141257.3
Οὐκοῦν οὕτω μὲν ἔχουσα εἰς τὸ ὅμοιον αὐτῇ τὸ ἀειδὲς ἀπέρχεται, τὸ θεῖόν τε καὶ ἀθάνατον καὶ φρόνιμον, οἷ ἀφικομένη ὑπάρχει αὐτῇ εὐδαίμονι εἶναι, πλάνης καὶ ἀνοίας καὶ φόβων καὶ ἀγρίων ἐρώτων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων κακῶν τῶν ἀνθρωπείων ἀπηλλαγμένη, ὥσπερ δὲ λέγεται κατὰ τῶν μεμυημένων, ὡς ἀληθῶς τὸ λοιπὸν μετὰ θεῶν διάγουσα; Οὕτω φῶμεν, ὦ Κέβης, ἢ ἄλλως;
Οὕτω νὴ Δί᾽, ἔφη ὁ Κέβης.
57.4
Ἐὰν δέ γε, οἶμαι, μεμιασμένη καὶ ἀκάθαρτος τοῦ σώματος ἀπαλλάττηται, ἅτε τῷ σώματι ἀεὶ ξυνοῦσα καὶ τοῦτο θεραπεύουσα καὶ ἐρῶσα καὶ γεγοητευμένη ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ὑπό τε τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν καὶ ἡδονῶν, ὥστε μηδὲν ἄλλο δοκεῖν εἶναι ἀληθὲς ἀλλ᾽ ἢ τὸ σωματοειδές, οὗ τις ἂν ἅψαιτο καὶ ἴδοι καὶ πίοι καὶ φάγοι καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἀφροδίσια χρήσαιτο, τὸ δὲ τοῖς ὄμμασι σκοτῶδες καὶ ἀειδές, νοητὸν δὲ καὶ φιλοσοφίᾳ αἱρετόν, τοῦτο δὲ εἰθισμένη μισεῖν τε καὶ τρέμειν καὶ φεύγειν, οὕτω δὴ ἔχουσαν οἴει ψυχὴν αὐτὴν καθ᾽ αὑτὴν εἰλικρινῆ ἀπαλλάξεσθαι;
Οὐδ᾽ ὁπωστιοῦν, ἔφη.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 141357.3 · The pure soul’s blessed condition
“Then, in this condition, it goes to what resembles it, the invisible, divine, immortal, and wise. On arriving there it may be happy, freed from wandering, folly, fears, savage desires, and the other human evils, and, as is said of those who have been initiated, truly spending the rest of its existence with gods. Shall we say this, Cebes, or something else?”
“This, by Zeus,” Cebes said.1694
57.4 · A soul enthralled by the body
“But suppose, I think, it leaves the body polluted and impure, because it has always associated with the body, served it, loved it, and been bewitched by it through desires and pleasures. It thinks nothing real except what is bodily, something one could touch, see, drink, eat, or use for sexual pleasure; but what is dark and invisible to the eyes, yet intelligible and attainable through philosophy, it has become accustomed to hate, tremble at, and flee. Do you think a soul in this condition will depart pure, itself by itself?”
“Not in any way,” he said.1695
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.57.3–I.49.57.4
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.