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.49.69.10–I.49.69.12

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Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.69.10–I.49.69.12

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Ancient Greek

p. 1552

69.10

I.49.69.10

καὶ ὅπως μὴ ἡ τοῦ σώματος ὑγρότης τέλεον ἀσθενὴς διαμένῃ, ὧν μὲν τὰ στόματα καὶ τοῖς ὀδοῦσιν ἐχαράκωσεν ὧν δὲ τοὺς ὄγκους ὀξύνας δύναμιν περιέθηκεν (οὕτως τὰ μὲν τῇ τοῦ θανάτου εὐλαβείᾳ ἰσχυρότερα τῶν ἄλλων)·

69.11

I.49.69.11

τὰ δὲ νηκτά, δειλὰ ὄντα, ἐνοικεῖν ἔδωκε στοιχείῳ, ἐν ᾧ τὸ φῶς οὐδετέραν ὧν ἔχει δυνάμεων ἐνεργεῖν ἰσχύει (ἐν γὰρ ὕδατι τὸ πῦρ οὔτε φαίνει οὔτε καίει)·

69.12

I.49.69.12

ἕκαστον δὲ αὐτῶν ἢ φολίσιν ἢ ἀκάνθαις ἐν ὕδατι νηχόμενον φεύγει ὅπῃ ἂν θέλῃ, τὴν ἰδίαν περιβεβλημένον δειλίαν καὶ σκεπαστήριον ἔχον εἰς τὸ μὴ ὁρᾶσθαι τὸ ὕδωρ.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49

p. 1553

69.10 · Defenses of soft bodies

I.49.69.10

“And so that bodily moisture should not remain wholly defenseless, she fortified the mouths of some with teeth as well, while to others she gave strength by sharpening their bodily projections (thus some are stronger than others in guarding against death).”¹⁸⁷¹

69.11 · Water as refuge

I.49.69.11

“Swimming creatures, being timid, she allowed to dwell in an element where light cannot exercise either of its powers (for in water fire neither shines nor burns).”¹⁸⁷²

69.12 · Scales, spines, and concealment

I.49.69.12

“Each of them, with scales or spines, swims in water and escapes wherever it wishes, wrapped in its own timidity and having the water as a covering to keep it from being seen.”¹⁸⁷³

1871.Onkoi, masses or protuberances, is provisionally bodily projections here. The masculine participle oxynas sits awkwardly with Nature as subject; the English follows the surrounding account. The apparatus considers the parenthesis either incomplete or interpolated. It remains in the text, with its uncertain sense rendered provisionally.

1872.The text first names light, phōs, and then fire, pyr, assigning the powers of shining and burning to the latter. Both terms are retained. The account presents water as the refuge appropriate to timidity; this is the dialogue’s elemental explanation.

1873.The datives scales or spines have no explicit verb of covering; the apparatus suggests supplying one. The English uses with and leaves the Greek unsupplemented. Wrapped in its own timidity is the printed image, distinct from the water’s literal concealment.

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.