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 52 · I.52.9.2–I.52.12

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Book I Chapter 52 · I.52.9.2–I.52.12

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Ancient Greek

p. 1632

9.2

I.52.9.2

Ἀκούειν δὲ κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν τοῦ μεταξὺ διηχοῦς· διηχὲς δ᾽ εἶναι καὶ τὸν ἀέρα καὶ τὸ πῦρ καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ καί τινα τῶν συγκριμάτων.

10

I.52.10

⟨Ἀετίου.⟩

Τῶν Ἀκαδημαϊκῶν τινες κατά τινων ⟨ἀκτίνων⟩ ἔκχυσιν μετὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸ ὑποκείμενον ἔνστασιν πάλιν ὑποστρεφουσῶν πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν.

11

I.52.11

Ποσειδώνιος ⟨αὐ⟩γῶν αὐτὴν σύμφυσιν ὀνομάζει.

12

I.52.12

Ἐμπεδοκλῆς καὶ πρὸς τὸ διὰ τῶν ἀκτίνων καὶ πρὸς τὸ διὰ τῶν εἰδώλων ἐκδοχὰς παρέχεται· πλείους δὲ πρὸς ⟨τὸ⟩ δεύτερον· τὰς γὰρ ἀπορροίας ἀποδέχεται.

Stobaeus, Volume I: Book I Chapter 52

p. 1633

9.2 · The medium of sound

I.52.9.2

We hear through the activity of the intervening medium that transmits sound. Air, fire, water, and certain compounds can transmit sound.¹⁹⁸⁴

10 · Rays returning to the eye

I.52.10

⟨Aëtius.⟩

Some of the Academics explain sight through an outpouring of certain ⟨rays⟩ which, after meeting the object, return again to the eye.¹⁹⁸⁵

11 · Rays growing together

I.52.11

Posidonius calls it a growing together of ⟨rays⟩.¹⁹⁸⁶

12 · Two interpretations of Empedocles

I.52.12

Empedocles provides grounds for interpreting sight both through rays and through images, but more for ⟨the⟩ second interpretation, since he accepts effluences.¹⁹⁸⁷

1984.Diēches describes what carries sound through itself, in parallel with diaphanes, what lets light through. The inclusion of fire follows the printed report. Synkrimata are compounds or things formed by aggregation; the text does not identify the particular compounds here.

1985.The supplied group attribution covers excerpts 10-13: Aëtius IV.13.2b-5, Diels p. 403. The noun rays is also supplied. The claim is attributed to some Academics, not to the entire school; compare the rejected addition attached to excerpt 1.

1986.Symphysis is a growing together or coalescence. Only the opening letters au- of augōn, rays, are supplied in Greek; the corresponding whole English word is marked because a matching fragment would not convey the restoration. The pronoun refers to the visual process under discussion.

1987.The report acknowledges competing interpretations rather than simply assigning a single mechanism to Empedocles. Ekdochai are ways of taking or interpreting his account. The supplied article is marked, and the explanatory appeal to effluences is retained.

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.