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 8 · II.8.39.7

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Facing Pages · Branch 304 of 516

Book II Chapter 8 · II.8.39.7

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Ancient Greek

p. 604

Πορφυρίου — συνέχεια

II.8.39.7

Ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν ἀλόγοις, ἀφῃρημένοις τοῦ αὐτεξουσίου, ἢ διὰ φύσεως ὁ χαρακτὴρ οὗτος ἐπισυνίσταται ἢ διὰ κατατάξεως τοῦ κτησαμένου· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ μὲν ἢ ἐκ προγόνων γενέσθαι ἀγαθῶν ἢ κάλλους τυχεῖν σωματικοῦ διὰ φύσεως ἐπορίσθη ἢ τύχης, πλὴν ὅτι τούτων οὐδὲν ἦν ἐφ’ ἡμῖν δῆλον. Τὰς δέ γε τῶν τεχνῶν ἀναλήψεις καὶ τὰς τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἐπιστημῶν τε καὶ ⟨τὰς⟩ τῶν πολιτικῶν βίων ἀρχῶν τε διώξεις καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα, ἐκ τοῦ ἐφ’ ἡμῖν ἠρτῆσθαι συμβέβηκεν, εἰ καί τινα δυσεπίτευκτα, τῷ καὶ τῆς ἔξωθεν προσδεῖσθαι συλλήψεως, δι’ οὗ εἰς τὸ τυχεῖν δύσκολα καὶ ἀποθέσθαι οὐ ῥᾴδια, ὥσπερ ἀρχὰς καὶ τυραννίδας καὶ δημαγωγίας.

Stobaeus, Volume II: Book II Chapter 8

p. 605

Porphyry continued

II.8.39.7

But in nonrational animals, which are deprived of self-government, this character is added either through nature or through the assignment made by the owner. In humans, being born of good ancestors or obtaining bodily beauty was provided through nature or fortune; at any rate, it is clear that none of these was up to us.⁸⁴⁸ But taking up crafts, pursuits, and sciences, and ⟨the⟩ pursuit of political ways of life and offices, and such things, have come to depend on what is up to us. Some are indeed hard to achieve because they also require assistance from outside; through this dependence they are difficult to attain and not easy to lay aside, as with offices, tyrannies, and popular leadership.⁸⁴⁹

848.The account denies αὐτεξούσιον, self-government, to nonrational animals and attributes their secondary roles to nature or an owner’s assignment. It then distinguishes human ancestry and bodily beauty, which are likewise presented as unchosen circumstances. Good ancestors follows the printed ἀγαθῶν without adding a particular lineage or social rank.

849.The contrast concerns taking up a pursuit, rather than guaranteeing success in it. Supplied ⟨τὰς⟩ makes the pursuit of political life and office parallel to the other items; English shows it as ⟨the⟩. Δημαγωγίαι are forms of leadership of the people, here called popular leadership. The text acknowledges both external assistance and the difficulty of relinquishing certain positions once attained.

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.