From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordSōtēria is preservation or salvation, with the object and danger determining its force.
- In StobaeusThe account of descent distinguishes a soul coming for the preservation, purification, and perfection of things here from one correcting its own character or undergoing punishment.
- In this edition“Preservation” keeps the wider beneficial sense; “salvation” suits a context explicitly emphasizing rescue.
- A place to beginOne kind of descent serves the preservation of things here.
- English renderings
- preservation; safety; salvation
Meaning
Sōtēria is preservation or salvation, with the object and danger determining its force.
Use in the book
The account of descent distinguishes a soul coming for the preservation, purification, and perfection of things here from one correcting its own character or undergoing punishment. Preservation in the first case benefits the lower realm. It is not simply the descending soul’s escape from that realm.
Places to read
- I.49.40.4One kind of descent serves the preservation of things here.
Translation in this edition
“Preservation” keeps the wider beneficial sense; “salvation” suits a context explicitly emphasizing rescue.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 380. The three purposes are expressly differentiated by the author and should remain separate in interpretation.