Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.57.7–I.49.57.8
Ancient Greek
p. 141657.7
Εἰκὸς μέντοι [γε], ὦ Κέβης· καὶ οὔ τί γε τὰς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ταύτας εἶναι, ἀλλὰ τὰς τῶν φαύλων, αἳ περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἀναγκάζονται πλανᾶσθαι δίκην τίνουσαι ⟨τῆς προτέρας τροφῆς κακῆς οὔσης· καὶ μέχρι γε τούτου πλανῶνται,⟩ ἕως ἂν τῇ τοῦ ξυνεπακολουθοῦντος τοῦ σωματοειδοῦς ἐπιθυμίᾳ πάλιν ἐνδεθῶσιν εἰς σῶμα.
57.8
Ἐνδοῦνται δέ, ὥσπερ εἰκός, εἰς τοιαῦτα ἤθη ὁποῖα ἄττ᾽ ⟨ἂν⟩ καὶ μεμελετηκυῖαι τύχωσιν ἐν τῷ βίῳ.
Τὰ ποῖα δὴ ταῦτα λέγεις, ὦ Σώκρατες;
Οἷον τοὺς μὲν γαστριμαργίας τε καὶ ὕβρεις καὶ φιλοποσίας μεμελετηκότας καὶ μὴ διευλαβουμένους εἰς τὰ τῶν ὄνων γένη καὶ τῶν τοιούτων θηρίων εἰκὸς ἐνδύεσθαι· ἢ οὐχ οἴει;
Πάνυ μὲν οὖν εἰκὸς λέγεις.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 141757.7 · Wandering and renewed embodiment
“It is likely [indeed], Cebes. These are certainly not the souls of good people but of the base, compelled to wander around such places, paying the penalty ⟨for their former bad nurture. And they continue wandering⟩ until, through desire for the bodily character that accompanies them, they are bound once more into a body.”1698
57.8 · Gluttony and animal embodiment
“They enter, as is natural, characters like those they ⟨may⟩ have happened to practice in life.”
“What sorts do you mean, Socrates?”
“For example, those who have practiced gluttony, wantonness, and love of drinking, without taking precautions, are likely to enter the kinds of asses and similar beasts. Do you not think so?”
“What you say is indeed very likely.”1699
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.57.7–I.49.57.8
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.