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.49.69.33–I.49.69.35

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 786 of 879

Book I Chapter 49 · I.49.69.33–I.49.69.35

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Ancient Greek

p. 1568

69.33

I.49.69.33

Εἰ δὲ τὸ γεῶδες πλεονάσειε, τὸ τηνικαῦτα ἀμβλεῖα μὲν τοῦ ζῴου ἡ ψυχὴ γίνεται, οὐκ ἔχουσα τὴν σωματικὴν ἀραιότητα εὔλυτον οὐδὲ τὸ δι᾽ οὗ πηδήσεται, πεπαχυμμένων τῶν αἰσθητικῶν μερῶν, ἀλλὰ ἔνδον μένει παρ᾽ ἑαυτῇ ὑπὸ βάρους καὶ πυκνότητος πεδηθεῖσα, τὸ δὲ σῶμα στερεὸν μέν, ἀλλὰ ἀργὸν καὶ βαρὺ καὶ μετὰ βίας ὑπὸ τῆς προαιρέσεως μετακινούμενον.

69.34

I.49.69.34

Εἰ δὲ σύμμετρος γένοιτο ἡ πάντων σύστασις, τότε τὸ ζῷον θερμὸν εἰς πρᾶξιν, κοῦφον δὲ εἰς κίνησιν, εὔκρατον δὲ εἰς ἁφήν, γενναῖον δὲ εἰς πῆξιν κατασκευάζεται.

69.35

I.49.69.35

Ὅσα οὖν τῷδε τῷ λόγῳ κεκοινώνηκε πλείονος μὲν πυρὸς καὶ πνεύματος, ταῦτα ἀπωρνέωται καὶ ἄνω παρ᾽ ἐκείνοις πολιτεύεται τοῖς στοιχείοις, ἐξ ὧν καὶ ἐγένετο. Ὅσα δὲ πλείονος μὲν πυρός, ὀλίγου δὲ πνεύματος, ὕδατος δὲ καὶ γῆς ἴσης, ταῦτα ἀπηνθρώπισται, καὶ τῷ ζῴῳ τὸ περισσὸν τοῦ θερμοῦ εἰς σύνεσιν ἐτράπη· ὁ γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν νοῦς θερμόν τι χρῆμά ἐστιν, ὃ καίειν μὲν οὐκ οἶδε, διαδύνειν δὲ κατὰ πάντων [καὶ] ἐπίσταται.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 49

p. 1569

69.33 · An excess of earth

I.49.69.33

“If the earthy element predominates, the creature’s soul becomes dull. It lacks a bodily openness easily released, or a passage through which to spring forth, since the organs of perception have thickened. It remains within itself, fettered by weight and density. The body is solid, but inactive and heavy, moved by deliberate choice only with effort.”¹⁸⁹⁴

69.34 · A balanced constitution

I.49.69.34

“If the constitution of all the elements is proportionate, the creature is formed warm for action, light for movement, well tempered to the touch, and strong in its solidity.”¹⁸⁹⁵

69.35 · Birds, human beings, and intellect

I.49.69.35

“According to this account, creatures sharing in more fire and breath have become birds and live above among the elements from which they came. Those sharing in more fire, little breath, and equal portions of water and earth have become human beings; in them the excess of heat has turned into understanding. For the intellect in us is a kind of heat: it does not know how to burn, but [also] knows how to penetrate everything.”¹⁸⁹⁶

1894.The phrase sōmatikē araiotēs eulytos is difficult: bodily openness easily released is provisional, suggesting a loose or porous bodily medium. A passage supplies the sense of to di’ hou, that through which. The printed sensory parts and the contrast between solidity and sluggishness are retained.

1895.The printed pēxis is solidity or consolidation, not one of the alternative readings in the apparatus. Each quality corresponds to the earlier elemental account: heat, lightness, tempering, and firmness. Symmetros is proportionate, not necessarily equal in numerical quantity.

1896.The unusual verbs apōrneōtai and apēnthrōpistai describe formation as birds and human beings. Pneuma is the airy component here. Equal portions interprets the compressed water and equal earth. The rejected kai is marked. Intellect’s heat is distinguished from ordinary burning fire.

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.