From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Recompense
ἀμοιβή
amoibēAmoibē is a return, exchange, or recompense.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAmoibē is a return, exchange, or recompense.
- In StobaeusThe tragic couplet says that evil designs yield evil returns to mortals under fate.
- In this edition“Returns” preserves the broad relation; “recompense” makes the consequence of conduct explicit.
- A place to beginEvil designs are said to produce evil recompense.
- English renderings
- return; recompense; exchange
Meaning
Amoibē is a return, exchange, or recompense. Its moral character depends on what is given and what comes back.
Use in the book
The tragic couplet says that evil designs yield evil returns to mortals under fate. The verb of reaping adds an agricultural image to the exchange: the consequence corresponds to the intention sown. The saying does not specify a legal procedure or a named agent administering the return.
Places to read
- I.3.8Evil designs are said to produce evil recompense.
Translation in this edition
“Returns” preserves the broad relation; “recompense” makes the consequence of conduct explicit.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 53. The poet is unidentified in the adopted heading; the two verses should not receive a conjectural author as though certain.
From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Reward
reward; rewarded; rewards — the good answering to faithful love and conduct
A reward is a benefit answering to action or service.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordA reward is a benefit answering to action or service.
- In TraherneLove’s reward is not merely something added after love has done its work.
- In this editionWhere rewarded describes love’s enlargement of joy, do not force the word into a wages-only model.
- A place to beginLove is called the crown of rewards and the soul of worldly enjoyment.
Meaning
A reward is a benefit answering to action or service. In Traherne it may be future recompense, but can also be the joy intrinsic to loving rightly.
Use in the book
Love’s reward is not merely something added after love has done its work. To love another person makes that person’s happiness available as one’s own joy; increased charity thereby enlarges the range of enjoyment. God is more fully enjoyed through likeness to his goodness. This explains why love can be called the crown of rewards.
Traherne nevertheless retains the distinction between present trial and future reward. Earthly love acts amid need, uncertainty, and sacrifice, whereas heavenly love flows without those impediments. Its difficulty here gives its exercise a distinctive glory. The reward therefore does not make present suffering unreal, nor does hope of reward by itself invalidate a generous act.
Places to read
- II.62Love is called the crown of rewards and the soul of worldly enjoyment.
- IV.57Love of others is rewarded through participation in their joys.
- IV.60Present trial and heavenly reward are distinguished without severing the two lives.
- III.100The rewarding of God’s friends forms part of eternal communion.
In this edition
Where rewarded describes love’s enlargement of joy, do not force the word into a wages-only model. Elsewhere its future and judicial sense remains explicit.
Source note
Primary text: II.62, IV.57, IV.60, III.100. No 2026 editorial notes used.