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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 729 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.58.38–I.49.58.39
Ancient Greek
p. 145458.38
Τὰ μὲν δὴ ἄλλα πολλά τε καὶ μεγάλα καὶ παντοδαπὰ ῥεύματά ἐστι· τυγχάνει δὲ ἄρα ὄντα ἐν τούτοις τοῖς πολλοῖς τέτταρα ῥεύματα, ὧν τὸ μὲν μέγιστον καὶ ἐξωτάτω ῥέον τὰ περὶ κύκλῳ ὁ καλούμενος Ὠκεανός ἐστι, τούτου δὲ καταντικρὺ καὶ ἐναντίως ῥέων Ἀχέρων, ὃς δι᾽ ἐρήμων τε τόπων ῥεῖ ἄλλων καὶ δὴ καὶ ὑπὸ γῆν ῥέων εἰς τὴν λίμνην ἀφικνεῖται τὴν Ἀχερονσιάδα οὗ αἱ τῶν τετελευτηκότων ψυχαὶ τῶν πολλῶν ἀφικνοῦνται καί τινας εἱμαρμένους ⟨χρόνους⟩ μείνασαι, αἱ μὲν μακροτέρους, ⟨αἱ δὲ βραχυτέρους,⟩ πάλιν ἐκπέμπονται εἰς τὰς τῶν ζῴων γενέσεις.
58.39
Τρίτος δὲ ποταμὸς τούτων κατὰ μέσον ἐκβάλλει καὶ ἐγγὺς τῆς ἐκβολῆς ἐκπίπτει εἰς τόπον μέγαν πυρὶ πολλῷ καιόμενον καὶ λίμνην ποιεῖ μείζω τῆς παρ᾽ ἡμῖν θαλάττης, ζέουσαν ὕδατος καὶ πηλοῦ· ἐντεῦθεν δὲ χωρεῖ κύκλῳ θολερὸς καὶ πηλώδης, περιελιττόμενος δὲ τῇ γῇ ἄλλοσέ τε ἀφικνεῖται καὶ παρ᾽ ἔσχατα τῆς Ἀχερουσίας λίμνης, οὐ συμμιγνύμενος τῷ ὕδατι·
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 145558.38 · Ocean and Acheron
“The other streams are many, great, and of every kind. Among these many there are four in particular. The greatest, flowing farthest out around the circumference, is called Ocean. Opposite it, and flowing in the contrary direction, is Acheron. It flows through various deserted regions and then, passing underground, reaches the Acherusian lake. There the souls of most of the dead arrive and remain for certain allotted ⟨periods⟩, some longer, ⟨others shorter,⟩ before being sent out again into the births of living creatures.”1742
58.39 · The fiery river and its boiling lake
“A third river issues between these two and, near its outlet, falls into a great region burning with much fire. It forms a lake larger than the sea in our region, seething with water and clay. From there it proceeds in a circuit, turbid and muddy, winding through the earth to various places and to the edge of the Acherusian lake, without mixing with its water.”1743
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.58.38–I.49.58.39
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.