From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordHybris is insolent or outrageous overstepping, often expressed in harmful conduct.
- In StobaeusArchilochus invokes Zeus as observing lawless human deeds and caring for outrage and justice even among beasts.
- In this edition“Outrage” suits wrongful conduct; “insolence” emphasizes the overbearing disposition.
- A place to beginOutrage is paired with justice under Zeus’s care.
- English renderings
- insolence; outrage; violent overstepping
Meaning
Hybris is insolent or outrageous overstepping, often expressed in harmful conduct. It is broader than an inward feeling of pride.
Use in the book
Archilochus invokes Zeus as observing lawless human deeds and caring for outrage and justice even among beasts. The pairing emphasizes misconduct subject to divine concern. The term should not be weakened into mere confidence or ordinary ambition.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Outrage” suits wrongful conduct; “insolence” emphasizes the overbearing disposition.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 58, 65–66. The poem’s extension of divine concern to beasts differs from other excerpts’ contrasts between animal and human justice.