Stobaeus, Volume II

Name: Stobaeus, Volume II
Author: John Stobaeus

Greek and English with an introduction and explanatory footnotes.

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Stobaeus, Volume IIBook II Chapter 7 · II.7.1.2–II.7.1.3

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 60 of 516

Book II Chapter 7 · II.7.1.2–II.7.1.3

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Ancient Greek

p. 116

⟨Ἐκ τῆς Διδύμου ἐπιτομῆς⟩ · συνέχεια

II.7.1.2

Πάρεστι δὲ κἀκείνως ὁρίζεσθαι· ὁρμὴ ψυχῆς πρακτικὴ ἢ κίνησις τῆς ψυχῆς καθ’ ὁρμὴν ἢ ποιότης ἀλόγου μορίου ψυχῆς ἢ ψυχῆς τοῦ ἀλόγου μέρους ποιότης καθ’ ὑποτακτικὸν λόγον δυναμένη τῷ λογικῷ ἐπακολουθεῖν.

Οὕτως μὲν οὖν οἱ κατὰ Πλάτωνα φιλοσοφοῦντες ὁρίζονται· οἱ δὲ κατὰ Ζήνωνα τὸν Στωϊκὸν τροπικῶς· ἦθός ἐστι πηγὴ βίου, ἀφ’ ἧς αἱ κατὰ μέρος πράξεις ῥέουσι.

⟨Ἐκ τῆς Διδύμου ἐπιτομῆς⟩ · συνέχεια

II.7.1.3

Πάθος δ’ ἐστίν, ὡς μὲν Ἀριστοτέλης, ἄλογος ψυχῆς κίνησις πλεοναστική. Τὸ μὲν οὖν ‘ἄλογον’ κατὰ τοῦ μὴ ἔχοντος τὸν ἀρχικὸν λόγον τάττει, τὸν γὰρ ὑποτακτικὸν ἔχει, καθ’ ὃν ὑπακούειν πέφυκε τοῦ λογικοῦ· τὸ δὲ ‘πλεοναστικὸν’ κατὰ τοῦ πεφυκότος ἐπιδέχεσθαι πλεονασμόν, οὐ κατὰ τοῦ ἤδη πλεονάζοντος· ποτὲ μὲν γὰρ πλεονάζει, ποτὲ δ’ ἐλλείπει.

Κἀκείνως δὲ ὁρίζεται· πάθος ἐστὶ κίνησις τοῦ ἀλόγου μέρους τῆς ψυχῆς πλεοναστικὴ κατὰ φαντασίαν ἡδέος ἢ λυπηροῦ.

Stobaeus, Volume II: Book II Chapter 7

p. 117

⟨From the Epitome of Didymus⟩ · 2

II.7.1.2

It may also be defined in this way: an impulse of the soul toward action; or a movement of the soul in accordance with impulse; or a quality of a nonrational portion of the soul; or a quality of the soul’s nonrational part capable, through a subordinate relation, of following the rational part.

This, then, is how those who follow Plato define it. Those who follow Zeno the Stoic define it figuratively: character is a spring of life, from which particular actions flow.¹³⁷

⟨From the Epitome of Didymus⟩ · 3

II.7.1.3

An affection, according to Aristotle, is a nonrational movement of the soul capable of excess. He applies “nonrational” to what does not possess reason in a ruling role; for it possesses a subordinate relation through which it is naturally able to obey the rational part. He applies “capable of excess” to what is naturally able to admit excess, rather than to what is already excessive; for sometimes it exceeds, and sometimes it falls short.

It is also defined in this way: an affection is a movement of the soul’s nonrational part, capable of excess, in response to an impression of something pleasant or painful.¹³⁸

137.The subject remains character. The report contrasts a Platonic family of definitions with a Stoic metaphor, rather than attributing every formulation directly to Plato or Zeno. Ὁρμή is an impulse toward action. The spring and flowing actions preserve the water imagery. “Subordinate relation” renders καθ’ ὑποτακτικὸν λόγον, not an additional reasoning faculty in the nonrational part.

138.The report’s explanation of πλεοναστική is decisive: it describes a capacity for excess, not excess already occurring. Accordingly πάθος is “affection” here, while the specifically excessive Stoic state in the next unit is “passion.” Wachsmuth notes Aristotelian parallels but cautions that πλεοναστική is not Aristotle’s own term; the heading reports an interpretation of his position, not a verbatim quotation. Φαντασία is an impression or presentation.

About This Reading Edition

The complete surviving text of Stobaeus’s second book, through II.46.22, in Ancient Greek and English, with an introduction and 1,541 explanatory notes. All forty-six chapter headings remain, including the notices for chapters whose texts are missing.

Historical Text and Translation

Greek: Curt Wachsmuth, Ioannis Stobaei Anthologii libri duo priores, volumen II (Berlin: Weidmann, 1884), printed p. 1 and pp. 3–264. The supplied edition preserves consequential editorial signs, reconstructed joins, qualified attributions, and missing-text notices. English translation, introduction, and explanatory notes: Diotimos Editions, 2026.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

Stobaeus’s ancient Greek work and Wachsmuth’s 1884 edition are in the public domain. The supplied English translation, introduction, and explanatory notes are published with the site owner’s authorization.