A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

914 STIMULA. STOBAEUS.
to Alexandria. We are further told that Demetrius, STIPAX. [STYPAX].
the son of Antigonus, honoured him no less, spared STOBAEUS, JOANNES ('IowavVis o!Tohis house at the capture of Megara (O1. 121, 3), eatos), derived his surname apparently from being
and offered him indemnity for the injury which it a native of Stobi in Macedonia. Of his personal
had received, which, however, Stilpo declined. history we know nothing. Even the age in which
(Diog. Laert. ii. 115. Plut. Denetr. c. 9, &c.) he lived cannot be fixed with accuracy. He lived,
Uniting elevated sentiment (rpopYvaea) with gentle- at all events, later than Hierocles, whom he quotes.
ness and patience (MeI-pTLo7raOela), he, as Plutarch Probably he did not live very long after him, as he
says (adv. Colot. c. 22), was an ornament to his quotes no writer of a later date. His studious
country and friends, and had his acquaintance avoidance of all Christian writers seems to render
sought by kings. His original propensity to wine it probable that Stobaeus was a heathen, though
and voluptuousness he is said to have entirely his name would rather indicate a Christian, or at
overcome (Cic. de Fato, c. 5); in inventive power least the son of Christian parents. Though Stoand dialectic art (opo-rsEia) to have surpassed his baeus is to us little more than a name, we are incontemporaries, and to have inspired almost all debted to him for a very valuable collection of
Hellas with a devotion to the Megarian philosophy. extracts from earlier Greek writers. Stobaeus was
A number of distinguished men too are named, a man of extensive reading, in the course of which
whom he is said to have drawn away from Aristotle, he noted down the most interesting passages. The
Theophrastus, and others, and attached to himself materials which he had collected in this way he
(Diog. La-rLt. ii. 113, comp. 119, 120); among arranged, in the order of subjects, as a repertory of
others Crates the Cynic, and Zeno, the founder of valuable and instructive sayings, for the use of his
the Stoic school. (ib. 114.) Not less commendation son Septimius. This collection of extracts he diis bestowed upon his political wisdom, his simple, vided into four books, and published under the
straightforward disposition. and the equanimity title'Iwdvvov:'roCaLov?KXeoy7V, daroOesy/dT&rV,
with which he endured the fate of being the sV7reO-cKCV LgChma re'eorapa. This, however, is not
father of a degenerate daughter (ib. 114, comp. exactly the form in which the work has come down
Plut. de tranqu. animi, c. 6). Of the nine dia- to us. In most of the manuscripts there is a divilogues, which were ascribed to him, and which sion into three books, forming two distinct works;
are described as being of a somewhat frigid kind, the first and second books forming one work under
we learn only the titles, two of which seem to the title'EKNoyal uctaci tal aXeKTrcai Kaical JOisKai,
point to a polemical disquisition on Aristippus and the third book forming another work, called'AvOoAristotle. (Diog. Laiirt. ii. 120.) In like manner, o yLov (Florilegiumn or Sermones). Some have
we obtain exceedingly scanty disclosures respecting supposed in consequence that the fourth book is lost.
his doctrines in the few propositions and sayings This, however, is not the case. Photius (Cod. 167)
of his which are quoted, torn as they are from has p;eserved a detailed table of contents of all four
their connection. Only we can scarcely fail to re- books; and on comparing the contents of the Flocognize in them the direction which the Megaric rilegium with the table of the contents of the third
philosophy took, to demonstrate that the pheno- and fourth books of the original arrangement, it is
menal world is unapproachable to true knowledge. perfectly evident that the Florilegium consists of
For it is probably in this sense that we are to un- both those books combined in one. It is true that
derstand the assertion, that one thing cannot be according to Photius the third and fourth books
predicated of another, that is, the essence of things together contained 100 chapters, while the Floricannot be reached by means of predicates (Plut. legium contains 126 (ed. Gaisford). This, howadv. Colot. 22, 23; comp. Simpl. in Phys. Ausc. ever, may easily have arisen from a subdivision of
f. 26); and that the genus, the universal, is not some of the longer chapters by the copyists. There
contained in the individual and concrete. (Diog. seems no sufficient reason for supposing that StoLaert. ii. 119.) He seems, however, especially to baeus originally arranged his extracts in two sepahave made the idea of virtue the object of his con- rate works. The table of contents in Photius is
sideration (Crates, op. Diog. Laert. 118), and to sufficiently full to allow of the restoration of the
have placed in a prominent point of view the self- original subdivision of the Florilegium or Sermones
sufficiency of it. He maintained that the wise into two books, answering precisely to those which
man ought not only to overcome every evil, but were in the edition of Stobaeus used by Photius.
not even to be affected by any, not even to feel it. The two books of Eclogues consist for the most
(Seneca, Epist. 9, comp. Plut. de Tranqu. animi, 6, part of extracts conveying the views of earlier poets
Dio,. Laiirt. ii. 114), and in that way outbids not and prose writers on points of physics, dialectics,
only the Stoics, but even the Cynics. Thence and ethics. The Florilegium, or Sermones, is detoo, probably, his collisions with Crates, referred to voted to subjects of a moral, political, ard econoin the verses of the latter (ap. Diog. Lalrt. ii. 118), mical kind, and maxims of practical wisdom. We
and in the otherwise very tasteless anecdote re- learn from Photius that the first book of the
peated by Diogenes Laertius. (ii. 117, &c.) Eclogues was preceded by a dissertation on the
Whether he was in earnest in his antagonism to advantages of philosophy, an account of the diffethe popular polytheistic faith, and whether and rent schools of philosophy, and a collection of the
how the Areiopagus in Athens stepped in, cannot opinions of ancient writers on geometry, music,
be gathered from the childish statements of such and arithmetic. The greater part of this introduca silly writer as Diogenes. (Diog. Laert. ii. tion is lost. The close of it only, where arithmetic
l16, &c.) [CH. A. B.] is spoken of, is still extant. The first book was
STI'MULA, the name of Semele, according to divided into sixty chapters, the second into fortythe pronunciation of the Romans. (Liv. xxxix. 12; six, of which we only possess the first nine. The
Augustin. De Civ. Dei, iv. 11, 16; Ov. Fast. vi. third book originally consisted of forty-two chap503.) Augustin is wrong in deriving the name ters, and the fourth of fifty-eight. Each chapter of
from stimuluzs. (Miiller, Etrusk. ii. p. 77.) LL. S.] the Eclogae and Sermones is headed by a title de