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 15 · II.15.46.2–II.15.46.3

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Book II Chapter 15 · II.15.46.2–II.15.46.3

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Ancient Greek

p. 720

Λυκίου — συνέχεια

II.15.46.2

Καὶ ὁ Μουσώνιος· Τί δέ; δυοῖν ἀνδροῖν τοῦ μὲν πεπλευκότος πολλάκις καὶ κυβερνήσαντος ἤδη πλοῖα ἱκανά, τοῦ δὲ ὀλιγάκις μὲν πεπλευκότος, κυβερνήσαντος δὲ μηδέποτε· ἐὰν οὗτος ὁ μὴ κυβερνήσας ἱκανώτατα λέγῃ ὃν τρόπον χρὴ κυβερνᾶν, ὁ δ’ ἕτερος ἐνδεῶς καὶ παντάπασιν ἀσθενῶς, ποτέρῳ ἂν πλέων χρήσαιο κυβερνήτῃ; Καὶ ὃς εἶπεν, ὅτι τῷ κυβερνήσαντι πολλάκις.

Λυκίου — συνέχεια

II.15.46.3

Πάλιν ὁ Μουσώνιος· Μουσικοῖν δὲ δυοῖν, τοῦ μὲν τοὺς λόγους ἐπισταμένου τοὺς μουσικοὺς καὶ λέγοντος αὐτοὺς πιθανώτατα, ᾄδειν δὲ ἢ κιθαρίζειν ἢ λυρίζειν ἀδυνατοῦντος, τοῦ δὲ περὶ μὲν τοὺς λόγους ὄντος ἥττονος, κιθαρίζοντος δὲ καλῶς καὶ λυρίζοντος, ἔτι δὲ ᾄδοντος· ποτέρῳ ἂν ἐπιτρέψαις ἔργον μουσικόν, ἢ πότερον ἂν ἐθέλοις γενέσθαι διδάσκαλον τῶν μουσικῶν παιδὸς οὐκ εἰδότος; Ὁ δὲ ἀπεκρίνατο, ὅτι τὸν ἐν τοῖς ⟨ἔργοις⟩ ἱκανόν.

Stobaeus, Volume II: Book II Chapter 15

p. 721

Lucius on Musonius continued

II.15.46.2

And Musonius said: “What, then, of two men, one who has often sailed and already steered a fair number of ships, and another who has sailed only a few times and never steered? If the man who has never steered explains very ably how one should steer, while the other does so inadequately and quite feebly, which would you employ as helmsman when sailing?” He replied that he would employ the one who had often steered.¹⁰³³

Lucius on Musonius continued

II.15.46.3

Again Musonius said: “And what of two musicians, one who knows musical theory and expounds it most persuasively but cannot sing or play the kithara or the lyre, and another who is weaker in theory but plays the kithara and lyre well and also sings? To which would you entrust a musical task, or which would you wish to become the music teacher of a child who knows no music?”¹⁰³⁴ He answered that he would choose the one competent in ⟨practice⟩.¹⁰³⁵

1033.Having sailed is distinguished from having steered: the second man has some sailing experience but has never taken the helm. The comparison gives greater weight to repeated practical responsibility than to the ability to describe how steering should be done.

1034.Κιθαρίζειν and λυρίζειν distinguish playing the kithara and the lyre. The comparison also includes singing and tests competence both in a musical task and in teaching an untaught child. Λόγοι μουσικοί are accounts or principles of music, rendered musical theory.

1035.Supplied ⟨ἔργοις⟩ is rendered ⟨practice⟩. It states the sphere in which the chosen musician is capable: actually performing the tasks under discussion. The supplied word is not expanded into a claim that theoretical instruction has no value.

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.