Stobaeus, Volume I

Name: Stobaeus, Volume I
Author: John Stobaeus

Greek with an independent English translation.

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Stobaeus, Volume IOn arithmetic · Arith.2b–Arith.3a

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English Page · Branch 9 of 879

On arithmetic · Arith.2b–Arith.3a

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Ancient Greek

p. 14

2 συνέχεια

Arith.2b

Ἡ μονὰς γονὴ ὑπὸ Τιμαίου τοῦ Λοκροῦ προσαγορεύεται, ὡς ἄρχουσα τῆς τῶν ἀριθμῶν γενέσεως.

Τοῦ περισσοῦ καὶ ἀδιαιρέτου λόγου Ἀριστοτέλης ἀπεφήνατο πρῶτον καὶ ἀμέριστον εἶδος τὸ ἕν· κατὰ δὲ τὴν τούτου ποίησιν ἰδιοποιουμένη μονὰς ἀρχὴ καὶ στοιχεῖον τῶν ἀριθμῶν.

3 Φιλολάου

Arith.3a

Θεωρεῖν δεῖ τὰ ἔργα καὶ τὰν ἐσσίαν τῶ ἀριθμῶ καττὰν δύναμιν ἅ τις ἐντὶ ἐν τᾷ δεκάδι. Μεγάλα γὰρ καὶ παντελὴς καὶ παντοεργὸς καὶ θείω καὶ ὠρανίω βίω καὶ ἀνθρωπίνω ἀρχὰ καὶ ἀγεμὼν κοινωνοῦσα … δύναμις ἁ τᾶς δεκάδος. Ἄνευ δὲ ταύτας πάντ’ ἄπειρα καὶ ἄδηλα καὶ ἀφανῆ.

Stobaeus, Volume I: On arithmetic

p. 15

2 continued

Arith.2b

Timaeus of Locri calls the monad a generative principle, because it governs the generation of numbers.¹⁰

Aristotle declared the One to be the primary and indivisible form of the odd and indivisible principle. The monad, acquiring its distinctive character through the activity of this One, is the beginning and element of numbers.¹¹

3 Philolaus

Arith.3a

We must consider the workings and essence of number in the light of the power contained in the decad. For great, all-completing, and all-accomplishing is the power of the decad: it participates in divine, heavenly, and human life as a beginning and guide … . Without it, all things are unlimited, unclear, and unseen.¹²

10.“Monad” renders monas, a unit considered as a principle of number. “The One” renders to hen. The text places these expressions close together, but later excerpts distinguish them explicitly; they are not automatically interchangeable.

11.This compressed sentence reports a doctrine attributed to Aristotle; it is not presented as a direct quotation from an identified Aristotelian work. Logos here is rendered “principle.” The phrase “through the activity of this One” translates kata de tēn toutou poiēsin; the causal relation is terse in the Greek.

12.The decad is ten understood as a complete numerical order. The Greek is in Doric forms, which are retained opposite. The gap after “guide” corresponds to a lacuna recorded by Wachsmuth after koinōnousa. The syntax surrounding that gap cannot be recovered with confidence; the English preserves the break rather than supplying a missing doctrine.

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.