Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 780 of 879
Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.69.16–I.49.69.17
Ancient Greek
p. 155669.16
Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Ἶσις· “Ὥστε ἄνθρωπον μέν, ὦ τέκνον, τὸ κριτικὸν ὑπερβῆναι, τετράπουν δὲ τὴν ἀνάγκην παραλλάξαι, ἑρπετὸν δὲ τὸ δόλιον ἀπολέσαι, καὶ νηκτὸν τῆς δειλίας καταφρονῆσαι, καὶ πτηνὸν τῆς ἀπανθρωπίας ἐκπεσεῖν. Καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τῆς διαθέσεως τῶν ἄνω καὶ τῆς καταβάσεως αὐτῶν καὶ τῆς σωματουργίας τοσαῦτα.”
69.17
Συμβαίνει δέ, ὦ τέκνον, ἐν ἑκάστῳ εἴδει εὑρίσκεσθαι καὶ γένει τῶν προκειμένων βασιλικάς τινας ψυχάς, καταβαίνειν δὲ καὶ ἄλλας ἀλλοίους, τὰς μὲν διαπύρους, τὰς δὲ ψυχράς, τὰς δὲ ὑπερηφάνους, τὰς δὲ πραείας, ⟨τὰς δὲ ἐλευθερίους,⟩ τὰς δὲ βαναύσους, τὰς δὲ ἐμπείρους, τὰς δὲ ἀπείρους, τὰς δὲ ἀργάς, τὰς δὲ ἐνεργεῖς, τὰς δὲ ἄλλοτε ἄλλας οὔσας.
Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49
p. 155769.16 · Departure from an assigned nature
Isis answered: “A human being, my child, may pass beyond the exercise of judgment; a quadruped may depart from its constraint; a creeping creature may lose its deceitfulness; a swimming creature may disregard timidity; and a flying creature may fall away from its estrangement from human company. So much for the disposition of those above, their descent, and the making of bodies.”1877
69.17 · Varieties of descending souls
“It happens, my child, that certain royal souls are found in each of the kinds and classes just described. Others descend with differing qualities: some fiery, some cold; some proud, some gentle; ⟨some liberal,⟩ some servile; some experienced, some inexperienced; some idle, some active; and some different at different times.”1878
Socrates
Reading Stobaeus, Volume I · Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.69.16–I.49.69.17
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.