Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 745 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.63.4–I.49.63.6
Ancient Greek
p. 148663.4
Τούτων δὲ δικασταὶ ἐπὶ Κρόνου καὶ ἔτι νεωστὶ τοῦ Διὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχοντος ζῶντες ἦσαν ζώντων, ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ δικάζοντες ᾗ μέλλοιεν τελευτᾶν. Κακῶς οὖν αἱ δίκαι ἐκρίνοντο· ὅ τε οὖν Πλούτων καὶ οἱ ἐπιμεληταὶ ἐκ μακάρων νήσων ἰόντες ἔλεγον πρὸς τὸν Δία, ὅτι φοιτῷέν σφισιν ἄνθρωποι ἑκατέρωσε ἀνάξιοι.
63.5
Εἶπεν οὖν ὁ Ζεύς· ἀλλ᾽ ἐγώ, ἔφη, παύσω τοῦτο γιγνόμενον. Νῦν μὲν γὰρ κακῶς αἱ δίκαι δικάζονται· ἀμπεχόμενοι γάρ, ἔφη, οἱ κρινόμενοι κρίνονται. Πολλοὶ οὖν, ἦ δ᾽ ὅς, ψυχὰς πονηρὰς ἔχοντες ἠμφιεσμένοι εἰσὶ σώματά τε καλὰ καὶ γένη καὶ πλούτους, καὶ ἐπειδὰν ἡ κρίσις ᾖ, ἔρχονται αὐτοῖς πολλοὶ μάρτυρες, μαρτυρήσοντες ὡς δικαίως βεβιώκασιν·
63.6
Οἱ οὖν δικασταὶ ὑπό τε τούτων ἐκπλήττονται, καὶ ἅμα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀμπεχόμενοι δικάζουσι, πρὸ τῆς ψυχῆς τῆς αὑτῶν ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ ὦτα καὶ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα προκεκαλυμμένοι. Ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῖς πάντα ἔμπροσθεν γίγνεται, καὶ τὰ αὑτῶν ἀμφιάσματα καὶ τὰ τῶν κρινομένων.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 148763.4 · Living judges make mistaken decisions
“Under Cronus, and while Zeus was still newly in power, living people judged the living, giving judgment on the day when those being judged were about to die. The cases were therefore wrongly decided. Pluto and the guardians coming from the Isles of the Blessed told Zeus that people undeserving of their destinations were arriving in both places.”1783
63.5 · The misleading clothing of appearances
“Zeus therefore said: ‘I will put a stop to this. For now the cases are wrongly judged: those undergoing judgment,’ he said, ‘are judged while clothed. Many people,’ he continued, ‘have wicked souls but are dressed in beautiful bodies, noble lineages, and riches. When their judgment takes place, many witnesses come forward for them to testify that they have lived justly.’”1784
63.6 · The judges are also clothed
“‘The judges are overawed by these things; at the same time they themselves judge while clothed, with eyes, ears, and the whole body placed as a covering before their own soul. All these things stand in their way, both their own coverings and those of the people being judged.’”1785
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.63.4–I.49.63.6
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
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