From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordEuergesia is a benefaction or good deed, and can also denote the benefit conferred.
- In StobaeusThe Republic narrative says that those who performed benefactions and lived justly and reverently receive corresponding recompense.
- In this edition“Good deeds” fits the plural acts; “benefit” fits what a recipient experiences.
- A place to beginGood deeds receive their due in the afterlife account.
- English renderings
- benefaction; good deed; benefit
Meaning
Euergesia is a benefaction or good deed, and can also denote the benefit conferred. Agent and recipient determine the emphasis.
Use in the book
The Republic narrative says that those who performed benefactions and lived justly and reverently receive corresponding recompense. The word identifies conduct assessed favorably in judgment. Elsewhere a blinded soul can mistake punishment for benefaction, showing that an apparent benefit may be misjudged.
Places to read
- I.49.64.10Good deeds receive their due in the afterlife account.
- I.49.44.46Distorted judgment mistakes punishment for benefit.
Translation in this edition
“Good deeds” fits the plural acts; “benefit” fits what a recipient experiences.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 398, 452. The Republic narrator declines to recount the treatment of very short lives. The omitted explanation is not reconstructed here.