Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography/Volume 3/Stobæus, Joannes
STOBÆUS, Joannes, a learned Greek, who probably lived during the fifth century of the christian era, was a native of Stobi in Macedonia, from which place his surname was derived. Nothing is known of Stobæus except that he was a learned and laborious compiler of extracts from early Greek writers, chiefly philosophers and poets, many of whose works but for him would have been altogether lost. These extracts are digested under such heads as the following—"Concerning virtue," "Concerning prudence," "Concerning intemperance," "Concerning arrogance," "In praise of poverty," "That in marrying the ages of the parties should be considered," "Concerning laws and customs," &c. Of such topics, chiefly ethical, his collections are made up. They form two series—the one compilation being entitled ἐκλογαι (eclogues, selections); the other, ἀνθολογιον (florilegium, anthology). He sometimes gives the very words, at other times merely the sense and substance, of the authors whom he quotes. The most complete edition of Stobæus is that which was published at Geneva in folio, 1609. In 1822, Gaisford put forth a much improved edition of the "Anthology." A cheap edition of the same, carefully edited by Augustus Meineke, was published by Teubner of Leipsic in 1855. It is to be followed by the "Eclogues," which, when published, will make this the most useful edition of Stobæus. Those who are interested in ancient philosophy will find a good many gems amid the rubbish of these old compilations.—J. F. F.