Stobaeus, Volume I

Name: Stobaeus, Volume I
Author: John Stobaeus

Greek with an independent English translation.

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Stobaeus, Volume IBook I Chapter 49 · I.49.58.19–I.49.58.21

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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.58.19–I.49.58.21

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Ancient Greek

p. 1438

58.19

I.49.58.19

Εἰ γὰρ δεῖ καὶ μῦθον λέγειν καλόν, ἄξιον ἀκοῦσαι, ὦ Σιμμία, οἷα τυγχάνει τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς ὑπὸ τῷ οὐρανῷ ὄντα.

Ἀλλὰ μήν, ἔφη ὁ Σιμμίας, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἡμεῖς γε τούτου τοῦ μύθου ἡδέως ἂν ἀκούσαιμεν.

58.20

I.49.58.20

Λέγεται τοίνυν, ἔφη, ὦ ἑταῖρε, πρῶτον μὲν εἶναι τοιαύτη ἡ γῆ αὐτὴ ἰδεῖν, ἤ τις ἄνωθεν θεῷτο, ὥσπερ αἱ δωδεκάσκυτοι σφαῖραι, ποικίλη, χρώμασι διειλημμένη, ὧν καὶ τὰ ἐνθάδε εἶναι χρώματα, οἷς δὴ οἱ γραφεῖς καταχρῶνται· ἐκεῖ δὲ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐκ τοιούτων εἶναι καὶ πολὺ ἔτι ἐκ λαμπροτέρων καὶ καθαρωτέρων ἢ τούτων·

58.21

I.49.58.21

Τὴν μὲν γὰρ ἁλουργῆ εἶναι καὶ θαυμαστὴν τὸ κάλλος, τὴν δὲ χρυσοειδῆ, τὴν δὲ ὅση λευκὴ γύψου ἢ χιόνος λευκοτέραν, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων χρωμάτων συγκειμένην ὡσαύτως, καὶ ἔτι πλειόνων ⟨καὶ⟩ καλλιόνων ἢ ὅσα ἡμεῖς ἑωράκαμεν.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49

p. 1439

58.19 · An invitation to a beautiful story

I.49.58.19

“For if we should also tell a beautiful story, Simmias, it is worth hearing what the things upon the earth beneath heaven are like.”

“Indeed, Socrates,” Simmias said, “we would gladly hear this story.”¹⁷²³

58.20 · A many-colored globe

I.49.58.20

“Well then, my friend,” he said, “the account is that, first, the earth itself looks like this, if someone were to view it from above: like balls made of twelve pieces of hide, variegated and divided into colors. The colors here, which painters use, belong to these colors; but there the whole earth consists of such colors, and of colors far brighter and purer still.”¹⁷²⁴

58.21 · Purple, gold, and radiant white

I.49.58.21

“One part is purple and marvelous in beauty; another is golden; and whatever part is white is whiter than gypsum or snow. In the same way it is made up of the other colors too, more numerous ⟨and⟩ more beautiful than any we have seen.”¹⁷²⁵

1723.Mythos is rendered “story,” retaining the speaker’s explicit characterization of the account. The invitation follows his earlier distinction between describing his conviction and proving it true. The adjective kalon, “beautiful,” belongs to the printed text and is retained; the apparatus notes variation in the parallel tradition.

1724.The scan prints ē tis, not ei tis; “if someone” is a provisional rendering of the viewing clause in light of the conditional alternative recorded in the apparatus. The printed Greek is retained. The twelve pieces describe the compared balls without specifying a geometrical solid. The parallel phrase “like samples,” reported in the apparatus after “colors,” is absent here and has not been inserted.

1725.The supplied kai remains marked as “and.” Halourgēs denotes purple, while chrysoeidēs means goldlike. The comparisons use familiar substances to suggest a brilliance exceeding familiar experience. “Part” is understood from the successive feminine articles referring to regions of the earth.

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.