Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition

John Stobaeus

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 50 · I.50.17–I.50.20

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Book I Chapter 50 · I.50.17–I.50.20

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Ancient Greek

p. 1592

17

I.50.17

⟨Ἀετίου.⟩

Πυθαγόρας, Ἐμπεδοκλῆς, Ξενοφάνης, Παρμενίδης, Ζήνων, Μέλισσος, Ἀναξαγόρας, Δημόκριτος, Μητρόδωρος, Πρωταγόρας, Πλάτων ψευδεῖς εἶναι τὰς αἰσθήσεις.

18

I.50.18

Οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀκαδημίας ὑγιεῖς μέν, ὅτι δι᾽ αὐτῶν οἷόν τε λαβεῖν ἀληθεῖς φαντασίας, οὐ μὴν ἀκριβεῖς.

19

I.50.19

Ἀριστοτέλης τὴν αἴσθησιν μὴ πλανᾶσθαι περὶ τὸ ἴδιον, περὶ δὲ τὸ συμβεβηκός.

20

I.50.20

Οἱ Στωικοὶ τὰς μὲν αἰσθήσεις ἀληθεῖς, τῶν δὲ φαντασιῶν τὰς μὲν ἀληθεῖς τὰς δὲ ψευδεῖς.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 50

p. 1593

17 · Perceptions called false

I.50.17

⟨Aëtius.⟩

Pythagoras, Empedocles, Xenophanes, Parmenides, Zeno, Melissus, Anaxagoras, Democritus, Metrodorus, Protagoras, and Plato hold that perceptions are false.¹⁹²⁸

18 · Sound but not exact

I.50.18

Those of the Academy hold that perceptions are sound, since through them it is possible to receive true impressions, but that they are not exact.¹⁹²⁹

19 · Proper and incidental objects

I.50.19

Aristotle holds that perception does not err concerning its proper object, but does err concerning what is incidental.¹⁹³⁰

20 · Perception and impression distinguished

I.50.20

The Stoics hold that perceptions are true, but that some impressions are true and others false.¹⁹³¹

1928.The supplied attribution covers excerpts 17-24: Aëtius IV.9.1-8, Diels p. 396 and following. All eleven names are retained. This exceptionally compressed grouping does not preserve the qualifications of each thinker’s position. It should be read as the collector’s report, not as a substitute for the more extended arguments quoted later in the chapter.

1929.Hygiēs, literally healthy, is rendered sound; akribēs is exact or precise. The distinction allows perception to yield true impressions without giving it unqualified accuracy. The report speaks of possibility, not of every impression being true.

1930.The proper object, to idion, belongs specifically to the sense in question; the incidental, to symbebēkos, is something associated with what is sensed. The report distinguishes their reliability rather than declaring every judgment prompted by a sense infallible.

1931.The distinction depends on treating aisthēseis and phantasiai as different categories. Impression is broader here than a particular act of sensing. The report’s categorical assertion about perceptions remains alongside the qualifications applied to impressions.

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.